Definitions for consonant
ˈkɒn sə nəntcon·so·nant

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.3 / 9 votes

1. consonantnoun

   a speech sound that is not a vowel

2. consonantadjective

   a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken consonant

3. consonant, harmonic, harmonical, harmonized, harmonisedadjective

   involving or characterized by harmony

4. accordant, agreeable, conformable, consonant, concordantadjective

   in keeping

   "salaries agreeable with current trends"; "plans conformable with your wishes"; "expressed views concordant with his background"

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.3 / 4 votes

1. consonantnoun

   A sound that results from the passage of air through restrictions of the oral cavity; any sound that is not the dominant sound of a syllable, the dominant sound generally being a vowel.

2. consonantnoun

   A letter representing the sound of a consonant.

3. consonantadjective

   Characterized by harmony or agreement.

4. Etymology: From consonans, sounding with, from prefix con-, with, + present participle sonans, sounding, from sonare, to sound

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. CONSONANTadjective

   Agreeable; according; consistent: followed by either with or to.

   Etymology: consonans, Lat.

   Were it consonant unto reason to divorce these two sentences, the former of which doth shew how the latter is restrained? Richard Hooker.

   That where much is given there shall be much required, is a thing consonant with natural equity. Decay of Piety.

   Religion looks consonant to itself. Decay of Piety.

   He discovers how consonant the account which Moses hath left, of the primitive earth, is to this from nature. John Woodward.

2. Consonantnoun

   A letter which cannot be sounded, or but imperfectly, by itself.

   Etymology: consonans, Latin.

   In all vowels the passage of the mouth is open and free, without any appulse of an organ of speech to another: but in all consonants there is an appulse of the organs, sometimes (if you abstract the consonants from the vowels) wholly precluding all sound; and, in all of them, more or less checking and abetting it. William Holder, Elements of Speech.

   He considered these as they had a greater mixture of vowels or consonants, and accordingly employed them as the verse required a greater smoothness. Alexander Pope, Essay on Homer.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Consonant

   In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are [p] and [b], pronounced with the lips; [t] and [d], pronounced with the front of the tongue; [k] and [g], pronounced with the back of the tongue; [h], pronounced in the throat; [f], [v], and [s], pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel (fricatives); and [m] and [n], which have air flowing through the nose (nasals). Contrasting with consonants are vowels. Since the number of speech sounds in the world's languages is much greater than the number of letters in any one alphabet, linguists have devised systems such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to assign a unique and unambiguous symbol to each attested consonant. The English alphabet has fewer consonant letters than the English language has consonant sounds, so digraphs like ⟨ch⟩, ⟨sh⟩, ⟨th⟩, and ⟨ng⟩ are used to extend the alphabet, though some letters and digraphs represent more than one consonant. For example, the sound spelled ⟨th⟩ in "this" is a different consonant from the ⟨th⟩ sound in "thin". (In the IPA, these are [ð] and [θ], respectively.)

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. consonant

   A consonant is a fundamental category of speech sounds in linguistics, primarily distinguished by the way the airflow is obstructed in the vocal tract when pronounced. It is the counterpart to vowel. In English, the consonant letters in the alphabet are B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y and Z.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. Consonantadjective

   having agreement; congruous; consistent; according; -- usually followed by with or to

2. Consonantadjective

   having like sounds

3. Consonantadjective

   harmonizing together; accordant; as, consonant tones, consonant chords

4. Consonantadjective

   of or pertaining to consonants; made up of, or containing many, consonants

5. Consonantnoun

   an articulate sound which in utterance is usually combined and sounded with an open sound called a vowel; a member of the spoken alphabet other than a vowel; also, a letter or character representing such a sound

6. Etymology: [L. consonans, -antis; p. pr. of consonare to sound at the same time, agree; con- + sonare to sound: cf. F. consonnant. See Sound to make a noise.]

WikidataRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. Consonant

   In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are, pronounced with the lips, pronounced with the front of the tongue, pronounced with the back of the tongue, pronounced in the throat; and, pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel; and and, which have air flowing through the nose. Contrasting with consonants are vowels. Since the number of possible sounds in all of the world's languages is much greater than the number of letters in any one alphabet, linguists have devised systems such as the International Phonetic Alphabet to assign a unique and unambiguous symbol to each attested consonant. In fact, the English alphabet has fewer consonant letters than English has consonant sounds, so digraphs like "ch", "sh", "th", and "zh" are used to extend the alphabet, and some letters and digraphs represent more than one consonant. For example, the sound spelled "th" in "this" is a different consonant than the "th" sound in "thin".

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Consonant

   kon′son-ant, adj. consistent: suitable: harmonious.—n. an articulation which can be sounded only with a vowel: a letter of the alphabet other than a vowel.—ns. Con′sonance, a state of agreement: agreement or unison of sounds: (mus.) a combination of notes which can sound together without the harshness produced by beats: concord; Con′sonancy, harmony.—adj. Consonant′al.—adv. Con′sonantly.—adj. Con′sonous, harmonious. [L. consonans, -antis, pr.p. of consonāre, to harmonise—con, with, and sonāre, to sound.]

Matched Categories

1. • Phone

How to pronounce consonant?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say consonant in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of consonant in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of consonant in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=consonant
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Consonant
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=consonant
4. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonant
5. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
6. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consonant
7. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=consonant
8. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=consonant