fricative

[ frik-uh-tiv ]

adjective

1. (of a speech sound) characterized by audible friction produced by forcing the breath through a constricted or partially obstructed passage in the vocal tract; spirantal; spirant.

noun

1. Also called spirant. a fricative consonant, as (th), (v), or (h).

fricative

/ ˈfrɪkətɪv /

noun

1. a continuant consonant produced by partial occlusion of the airstream, such as (f) or (z)

adjective

1. relating to or denoting a fricative

Other Words From

• non·frica·tive adjective noun
• un·frica·tive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of fricative¹

First recorded in 1855–60; fricat(ion) + -ive

Word History and Origins

Origin of fricative¹

C19: from New Latin fricātivus , from Latin fricāre to rub

Example Sentences

“After hearing these guys enunciate the name of the Italian fashion house 158 times within 3 minutes 7 seconds,” he wrote, “it becomes apparent that this three-syllable word — with its intoxicating combination of fricative consonants — is surprisingly fun to say out loud, over and over and over.”

From Washington Post

Important point of pronunciation: You don’t pronounce Qarabag carra-bag, or – and I see at the top of this page we spell it Karabakh, but it isn’t pronounced carra-bak either – you pronounce it kurra-barh, ending with the sound known to phoneticians as ʁ, or the voiced uvular fricative.

From The Guardian

In particular, tweeters and emailers want to know why I drop the letter G off the end of the present continuous and why I can’t pronounce the dental fricative – or “th” sound as it’s known to the rest of us.

From The Guardian

The reMarkable screen isn’t made out of glass, but rather a more durable and fricative material that really does feel like writing on paper with a pen or pencil.

From The Verge

Migos first stammered their way across our national eardrums in the summer of 2013 with “Versace,” an intoxicating Mobius strip of fricative consonants, but as rappers, they’ve never sounded more deeply attuned to one another — or to the vibrations of their surroundings — than they do right now.

From Washington Post