strident
/ˈstɹaɪ.dənt/adjective, noun
strident is spelled S-T-R-I-D-E-N-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, strident means “Loud; shrill, piercing, high-pitched; rough-sounding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in strident?
| Letters | 8: S-T-R-I-D-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is strident?
Strident appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd 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 strident?
- US /ˈstɹaɪ.dənt/
- US [ˈstɹaɪ.dn̩t]
- Australia /ˈstɹɑe.dənt/
Strident has 2 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-strident.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of strident
- more strident comparative
- most strident superlative
- stridents plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does strident mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Loud; shrill, piercing, high-pitched; rough-sounding.
The trumpet sounded strident against the string orchestra.
- 2
Grating or obnoxious.
The artist chose a strident mixture of colors.
- 3
Forceful (typically in a negative way) or obtrusive.
- 4
nonstandardVigorous; making strides; forceful in a positive way.
noun
- 1
One of a class of s-like fricatives produced by an airstream directed at the upper teeth.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Strident in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense loud, piercing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | strident, criard |
| German | gellend |
| Spanish | estridente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does strident come from?
From French strident, from Latin strīdēns, present active participle of strīdō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).