Hoarse Meaning
/hɔːs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjHaving a dry, harsh tone to the voice, as a result of a sore throat, age, emotion, etc.
verbTo utter hoarsely; to croak.
Sentence Examples
They were all hoarse from shouting.
I talked myself hoarse.
Don't stop singing even if you get hoarse.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After screaming at the concert all night, her voice became very ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His voice sounded very ____ after he spent the whole afternoon cheering for his favorite team.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English hors, hos, from Old English hās, *hārs, from Proto-Germanic *haisaz, *haisraz, akin to Old Norse háss (West Norse) and heiss (East Norse) (whence Icelandic hás, Norwegian Nynorsk hås, Norwegian Bokmål hes and Swedish hes).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I am old and my voice is hoarse […]"
— 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
""[...] Madame! Is—that—your—horse?!"
"Ain't no horse!" she hoarses. "Thassa thuruly bred Great Dane!" The thuruly bred Great Dane's balls shine like big , bald onions as he squeezes to deposit 4 1⁄2 pounds of vitamin - enriched apcray near the lamp-post."
— 1980, Leo Rosten, King Silky!, HarperCollins Children's Books:
""See anything, mum?" she hoarsed. “No—I think it's lower down. Go back to bed, Jane. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. Someone's forgotten something, that's all.” She wanted to get rid of Jane without knowing exactly."
— 2022 August 1, J. Jefferson Farjeon, Back to Victoria, DigiCat:
""Helene," he croaked, reaching out his arms—his voice tensed with the infinity of his desire. "Back," she iced. And then, "Why have you come here?" she hoarsed. "What business have you here?""
— 2022 September 16, Stephen Leacock, Further Foolishness, DigiCat:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After screaming at the concert all night, her voice became very ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
His voice sounded very ____ after he spent the whole afternoon cheering for his favorite team.