sonority

/səˈnɑɹɪti/

//səˈnɑɹɪti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sonority" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sonority” is uncommon English (frequency #98,741 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#98,741
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The property of being sonorous.

Key facts for sonority
PropertyValue
Headwordsonority
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/səˈnɑɹɪti/
Letters8
Frequency rank#98,741
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sonority” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sonority lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sonority is uncommon English at frequency #98,741 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /səˈnɑɹɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for sonority, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sonor(ous) + -ity, from French sonorité, from Latin sonōritās. The correct English form is sonority, spelled S-O-N-O-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The property of being sonorous.
  2. 2
    Relative loudness (of a speech sound); degree of being sonorous.

Etymology

From sonor(ous) + -ity, from French sonorité, from Latin sonōritās.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sonority"?
"sonority" is spelled S-O-N-O-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /səˈnɑɹɪti/.
What does "sonority" mean?
As a noun, "sonority" means: The property of being sonorous.
How do you pronounce "sonority"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sonority" is /səˈnɑɹɪti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sonority"?
From sonor(ous) + -ity, from French sonorité, from Latin sonōritās. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “sonority”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-O-N-O-R-I-T-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /səˈnɑɹɪti/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list