fricative

adjective/ˈfrɪkətɪv/

Frequency rank: #19,677 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

A consonant sound produced by forcing air through a narrow passage, creating friction (e.g., f, v, s, z).

Illustration for the English word “fricative”

Example sentence

The sound at the start of 'fish' is classified as fricative in phonetics.

Synonyms & related words

  • sibilant
  • spirant
  • continuant

More words in ranks 19,601–19,700