strident
Americanadjective
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making or having a harsh sound; grating; creaking.
strident insects; strident hinges.
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having a shrill, irritating quality or character.
a strident tone in his writings.
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Linguistics. (in distinctive feature analysis) characterized acoustically by noise of relatively high intensity, as sibilants, labiodental and uvular fricatives, and most affricates.
adjective
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(of a shout, voice, etc) having or making a loud or harsh sound
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urgent, clamorous, or vociferous
strident demands
Other Word Forms
- nonstrident adjective
- overstridence noun
- overstridency noun
- overstrident adjective
- overstridently adverb
- stridence noun
- stridency noun
- stridently adverb
- unstrident adjective
- unstridently adverb
Etymology
Origin of strident
1650–60; < Latin strīdent- (stem of strīdēns ), present participle of strīdēre to make a harsh noise; -ent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prior to joining the Trump administration, she was known for her strident and uncompromising anti-war philosophy.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026
"I appreciate there are others who have been more strident and have been more critical of the United States," he said.
From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026
Sometimes he’s gotten called out for being too loud, too strident.
From Slate • Dec. 11, 2025
But beyond the strident rhetoric lies a good story about race, power and the exploitation of gridiron heroes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
Upon entering the theater, he had carefully buttoned the two earflaps to the top of his cap, and now the strident score of the musical assaulted his naked ears from a variety of speakers.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
