loud

[loud] /laʊd/
adjective, louder, loudest.
1.
(of sound) strongly audible; having exceptional volume or intensity:
loud talking; loud thunder; loud whispers.
2.
making, emitting, or uttering strongly audible sounds:
a quartet of loud trombones.
3.
clamorous, vociferous, or blatant; noisy:
a loud party; a loud demonstration.
4.
emphatic or insistent:
to be loud in one's praises; a loud denial.
5.
garish, conspicuous, or ostentatious, as colors, dress, or the wearer of garish dress:
loud ties; a loud dresser.
6.
obtrusively vulgar, as manners or persons.
7.
strong or offensive in smell.
adverb
8.
in a loud manner; loudly:
Don't talk so loud.
Idioms
9.
out loud, aloud; audibly:
I thought it, but I never said it out loud. Just whisper, don't speak out loud.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English hlūd; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon hlūd (Dutch luid), Old High German hlūt (German laut); akin to Greek klytós famous
Related forms
loudly, adverb
loudness, noun
overloud, adjective
overloudly, adverb
overloudness, noun
unloudly, adjective
Synonyms
1. resounding; deafening; stentorian. Loud, noisy describe a strongly audible sound or sounds. Loud means characterized by a full, powerful sound or sounds, which make a strong impression on the organs of hearing: a loud voice, laugh, report. Noisy refers to a series of sounds, and suggests clamor and discordance, or persistence in making loud sounds that are disturbing and annoying: a noisy crowd. 5. gaudy, flashy, showy.
Antonyms
1. quiet.
Examples from the web for loud
  • The current method of summoning help involve speakers constantly blaring loud beeping sound both day and night.
  • The best way to muzzle a loud talker in the workplace is to discuss the problem privately.
  • Cut, practice reading out loud for time, then cut again.
  • loud bird song is far more pleasant than equally loud beeping.
  • Your ears are able to hear an incredible amount of things, but noises that are too loud can damage them.
  • Swing dancing is enjoying a loud and rambunctious revival in nightclubs, ballrooms and dance studios.
  • Doctors report several cases of collapsed lungs apparently caused by loud music.
  • It is one thing to write something and read it out loud.
  • loud noises, such as those produced by machinery and booming stereos, can knock them away.
  • Yet it is so loud that the beast would have to be huge-even larger than the giant squid.
British Dictionary definitions for loud

loud

/laʊd/
adjective
1.
(of sound) relatively great in volume: a loud shout
2.
making or able to make sounds of relatively great volume: a loud voice
3.
clamorous, insistent, and emphatic: loud protests
4.
(of colours, designs, etc) offensive or obtrusive to look at
5.
characterized by noisy, vulgar, and offensive behaviour
adverb
6.
in a loud manner
7.
out loud, audibly, as distinct from silently
Derived Forms
loudly, adverb
loudness, noun
Word Origin
Old English hlud; related to Old Swedish hlūd, German laut
Word Origin and History for loud
adj.

Old English hlud "noisy, making noise, sonorous," from West Germanic *khluthaz "heard" (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon hlud, Middle Dutch luut, Dutch luid, Old High German hlut, German laut "loud"), from PIE past participle *klutos- (cf. Sanskrit srutah, Greek klytos "heard of, celebrated," Armenian lu "known," Welsh clod "praise"), from root *kleu- "to hear" (see listen).

Application to colors first recorded 1849. The adverb is from Old English hlude, from Proto-Germanic *khludai (cf. Dutch luid, German laut). Paired with clear since at least c.1650.

Slang definitions & phrases for loud

loud

adjective

Vulgar and gaudy in taste; garish: Isn't his dress rather loud? (1849+)

Related Terms

for crying out loud, read someone loud and clear


Idioms and Phrases with loud

loud

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