clangorous · adj — making a clangor. It carries an Arena rating of 1333, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, clangorous ranks #1,308 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,881 of 17,128 for Most Vivid Words, #3,404 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,785 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
Why “clangorous” is a great word
A loud, resonant, and often harsh metallic sound. From Medieval Latin *clangorosus*, built from Latin *clangor* ("a loud, resonant sound, especially of metal") and the English suffix *-ous*. Unlike "clamorous," which emphasizes the insistent outcry of voices, or "resonant," which suggests a rich, pleasing vibration, clangorous is the unadorned physics of impact. It is the cathedral bell struck with brute force, the dropped tray of iron cookware in a silent scullery, the shriek of a streetcar's wheels on a tight curve—the sound of human industry asserting itself against the silence of matter, beautiful only in its absolute refusal to be ignored.
❧ Written by Lexicurio’s AI
Etymology
From clangor + -ous.
adj
- Making a clangor.e.g.“Who would have thought that the clangorous Noise of a Smith’s Hammers should have given the first rise to Musick?” — 1712 March 24, Joseph Addison, The Spectator, volume V, number 334:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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