Describing Sounds in Writing

When describing sounds in writing employ these six techniques. Onomatopoeia is the first of six of the most effective methods of using words and language to improve and enhance your sounds in writing.

Onomatopoeia is a type of sensory language in which the descriptive word sounds like what it describes—words like “drip,” “bang,” or “plink.” If you want to achieve an especially sound-driven description, consider using existing onomatopoeic words or craft your own.

You can read about the other five methods here:

Literary devices: metaphors/similes, hyperbole.
And rhyming technique: alliteration, consonance and assonance.

Onomatopoeia helps heighten language beyond the literal words on the page. Onomatopoeia’s sensory effect is used to create particularly vivid imagery—it is as if you are in the text itself, hearing what the speaker of the poem is hearing. Other examples of onomatopoeia include “ahem,” “groan,” “sigh,” and animal sounds like “bleat” or “meow.”

Used this way, onomatopoeia is a form of figurative language, heightening imagery beyond the literal meaning of the word on the page. Sometimes, writers will go so far as to make up new words based on natural sounds, such as “tattarrattat,” James Joyce’s preferred word for a knock on the door in Ulysses.

Pay attention to verbs. While adjectives (words like “loud” or “sharp”) are the obvious choice for describing sounds, verbs are a powerful tool that can also help you achieve a strong description. For example, saying, “the jet was loud” is accurate and descriptive, while “the jet screamed” evokes an even stronger sense of the sound.

The leaves crackled and crunched under his feet.
The wind sighed.

What are the sound techniques in English?

The four most common sound devices are repetition, rhyme, alliteration, and assonance. See all types of rhyme here!

Cacophony and Euphony

When there are harsh and strong consonant sounds in a phrase, they seem jarring as well as dissonant. They are called cacophonies. They usually have sounds of b, d, g, k, p, s, and t. You can also use consonant blends like ch, sh, tch, etc. Interestingly, these sounds create a unique melody such as his fingers floundering when picking up a berry. These sounds, however, merge with euphony that is opposite of it and refers to the pleasantness of a phrase that seems pleasing to the ears. This could be any phrase that is pleasant as opposed to the jarringness of cacophony. In other words, it is built upon the pleasantness of phonetic sounds.

Examples of Euphony in Literature:

The words mists, mellow, close, sun, bless, vines and eves all have a soothing quality to them and don’t sound harsh or jarring, thus making them euphonious words.

An example of euphony is the end of Shakespeare’s famous “Sonnet 18,” which goes “So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

Examples of Cacophony in Literature:

Often, onomatopoeic words are also cacophonous, but not always. “Bang,” for example, utilizes the hard b and g sounds. Words like “slip” and “slush,” on the other hand, are onomatopoeic but more euphonic than cacophonic.

The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll or even popular tongue twisters like, ‘She sells seashells down by the seashore. ‘

Cacophony in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Bells

The speaker describes the ringing of bells—four different types of bells are described throughout the poem—and by the end, the “jingling, tinkling” sound of the bells has become “throbbing and sobbing”—and has begun to torment the speaker, causing him misery and anguish.

Words to Describe Different Sounds

If you’re struggling to find the right word to describe a sound, here’s a handy list:

Words to describe harsh or loud sounds: If you want to articulate abrupt, piercing, or loud noises, use: beep, bellow, blare, cackle, clack, clang, clank, clink, croak, earsplitting, full blast, grating, high frequency, huff, jarring, rasp, rumble, scrunch, shriek, toot, twang, vibrating, wail, and zap.
Words for soft or subtle sounds: Gentle noises can be challenging to describe. Here are some descriptors to use to evoke quiet noises: breathy, chime, droning, fizz, glug, gurgle, jingle, moan, sizzle, squish, swish, swoosh, tinkle, trill, wheeze, whir, and whoosh.
Animal sounds to describe noises: English language readers often associate these words with animal noises, but you can use them to create imaginative descriptions of other sounds: bleat, bray, chirping, cluck, hoot, howl, meow, neigh, purr, quack, roar, woof, yelp.

List Of verbs to describe sounds

babble – a gentle, pleasant sound of water as it moves along in a river
bang – to move, making loud noises
beep – a short high sound or several short high sounds
blare – to make a loud and unpleasant noise
blast – to make a loud sound with a car horn
bleep – a short high sound or several short high sounds
boo – when we do not like something we are watching or disagree with someone’s performance in particular where we have paid money to watch the performance.
boom – to make a deep loud sound that continues for some time
caterwaul – an unpleasant loud high noise
chant – a chant is a simple song or melody normally repeated several times.
cheer – a loud cheer could be heard coming from the football stadium. The home team had obviously scored a goal.
chime – a high ringing sound like a bell or set of bells
chink – a high ringing sound when knocked together, or to make something do this
chirp
clack -to make a short loud sound like one hard object hitting against another
clang – a loud, metallic sound
clank – a short, loud sound
clash – a loud, metallic sound
clatter – a series of short, sharp noises
click – a short sound like the sound when you press a switch
clink – to make the short high sound of glass or metal objects hitting each other, or to cause objects to make this sound

Full list of Onomatopeia divided by subject

cluck – to make a short, low sound with your tongue
crash – a sudden loud noise, as if something is being hit
creak – if something creaks, especially something wooden, it makes a high noise when it moves or when you put weight on it
drone – to make a low continuous noise
fizz – a soft sound that small gas bubbles make when they burst
groan – a long, low, sound
growl – a low, unpleasant noise
grunt – to make a short low sound in your throat and nose at the same time
gurgle – the low sound water makes when it is poured quickly from a bottle
hiss – another animal-like sound. Snakes hiss.
honk – to make a loud noise using a horn, especially the horn of a car
hoot – to make a short loud sound as a warning
mewl – crying with a soft, high sound
moan – a long, low sound
neigh – to make a high loud sound like a horse’s neigh
peal – if a bell peals, or if someone peals it, it makes a loud sound
peep – if a car’s horn peeps, it makes a sound
ping – to make a short high sound like the sound of a small bell
pipe – to make a very high sound, or to speak in a very high voice
pop – a sudden noise like a small explosion
putter – a short, quiet, low sound at a slow speed
ramble – to ramble is to talk for a long time but not with any great structure or organization.
rattle – we rattle something when we shake it. The sound of a rattle is a short sharp noise when we shake a box or tin.

Terms of Venery in Literature

ring – to make a bell produce a sound
roar – to make a continuous, very loud noise
rumble – a continuous deep sound
scream – to make a very loud high noise
scream – to make a very loud high noise
screech – to make a loud, high, and unpleasant noise
scrunch – to make a loud noise like something being crushed
sigh – a long, soft, low sound
sizzle – this is a “hot” sound. When we cook meat in a frying pan
snort – this is like an animal sound. Usually associated with pigs. Pigs snort. Humans can also snort.
squeak – to make a short, high noise
squeal – to make a long high sound
squee – to make a loud high noise because you are excited or happy
swish – a noise we associate with curtains or long dresses as they move in a certain direction.
thrum- to make a low regular noise like one object gently hitting another many times
thud – a dull sound when falling or hitting something
thump – to hit against something with a low loud sound
tinkle – to make a high, ringing sound
wail – to make a long, high sound
wheeze – a high sound, as though a lot of air is being pushed through it
whimper – a sound we make when we complain but it is usually a quiet soft sound the opposite of a scream.
whine – a high, loud sound
whirr – a fast, repeated, quiet sound
whisper – to make a quiet, gentle sound
whistle – to make a high sound by forcing air through your mouth in order to get someone’s attention
yelp – a short, loud, high sound, usually caused by excitement, anger, or pain
yowl – a long, loud, unhappy sound or complaint