CONSONANT
| Pronunciation (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does consonant mean?
• CONSONANT (noun)
The noun CONSONANT has 2 senses:
1. a speech sound that is not a vowel
2. a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken consonant
Familiarity information: CONSONANT used as a noun is rare.
• CONSONANT (adjective)
The adjective CONSONANT has 2 senses:
1. involving or characterized by harmony
2. in keeping
Familiarity information: CONSONANT used as an adjective is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• CONSONANT (noun)
Meaning:
A speech sound that is not a vowel
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("consonant" is a kind of...):
phone; sound; speech sound ((phonetics) an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "consonant"):
alveolar; alveolar consonant; dental; dental consonant (a consonant articulated with the tip of the tongue near the gum ridge)
velar; velar consonant (a consonant produced with the back of the tongue touching or near the soft palate)
surd; voiceless consonant (a consonant produced without sound from the vocal cords)
geminate (a doubled or long consonant)
liquid (a frictionless continuant that is not a nasal consonant (especially 'l' and 'r'))
lingual (a consonant that is produced with the tongue and other speech organs)
nasal; nasal consonant (a consonant produced through the nose with the mouth closed)
labiodental; labiodental consonant (a consonant whose articulation involves the lips and teeth)
labial; labial consonant (a consonant whose articulation involves movement of the lips)
aspirate (a consonant pronounced with aspiration)
obstruent (a consonant that is produced with a partial or complete blockage of the airflow from the lungs through the nose or mouth)
guttural; guttural consonant; pharyngeal; pharyngeal consonant (a consonant articulated in the back of the mouth or throat)
Antonym:
vowel (a speech sound made with the vocal tract open)
Meaning:
A letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken consonant
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("consonant" is a kind of...):
alphabetic character; letter; letter of the alphabet (the conventional characters of the alphabet used to represent speech)
• CONSONANT (adjective)
Meaning:
Involving or characterized by harmony
Synonyms:
consonant; harmonical; harmonised; harmonized; in harmony; harmonic
Similar:
harmonious (musically pleasing)
Meaning:
In keeping
Synonyms:
concordant; consonant; agreeable; accordant; conformable
Context examples:
salaries agreeable with current trends / plans conformable with your wishes / expressed views concordant with his background
Similar:
consistent ((sometimes followed by 'with') in agreement or consistent or reliable)
