sonorous
/ˈsɑːn.ɚ.əs/adjective
sonorous is spelled S-O-N-O-R-O-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sonorous means “Capable of giving out a deep, resonant sound” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sonorous?
| Letters | 8: S-O-N-O-R-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sonorous?
Sonorous appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sonorous?
- UK /ˈsɒn.əɹ.əs/
- UK /səˈnɔː.rəs/
- US /ˈsɑːn.ɚ.əs/
Sonorous has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sonorous.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sonorous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sonorous from its last stressed vowel (/ɑnəɹəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sonorous
- more sonorous comparative
- most sonorous superlative
- sonourous rare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sonorous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Capable of giving out a deep, resonant sound.
The highlight of the hike was the sonorous cave, which produced a ringing echo from the hiker’s shouts.
- 2
Full of sound and rich, as in language or verse.
He was selected to give the opening speech thanks to his imposing, sonorous voice.
- 3
Wordy or grandiloquent.
- 4
Produced with a relatively open vocal tract and relatively little obstruction of airflow.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does sonorous come from?
Borrowed from Latin sonōrus, from sonor (“sound”), early 17th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).