as in vocal
sounding harsh, forceful, and unpleasant
They heard their boss's strident voice from down the hall. The critical questions began to anger the professor and the tone of her answers became noticeably more strident.
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Recent Examples of strident
On September 7, ISIS began a strident offensive again, hitting its former stronghold of Mocimboa da Praia, beheading dozens of mostly Christian men over the course of several weeks, and triggering the flight of tens of thousands of residents.
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Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Nov. 2025
Spanberger and Sherrill should, and will, face strident calls from their LGBTQ+ constituents to go further in their support for trans people of all ages, and to not let misinformation and propaganda cloud their decisionmaking while in office.
—Samantha Riedel, Them., 6 Nov. 2025
Newsom’s anti-energy agenda has been forceful, strident and clear from his first days in the governor’s mansion.
—Will Oneill, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Nov. 2025
Telemann’s music animates Jonathan Swift’s outlandish story, with spirited dances by the tiny inhabitants of Lilliput and strident rhythms of the giant Brobdingnagians.
—Sheila Regan, Twin Cities, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strident
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strident
Adjective
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The responses in Bug are very vocal and that is a lot of fun.—
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Hopefuls are judged on musical performance, song choice, vocal abilities, costuming, crowd appeal and authenticity in portraying the real-life Gold Rush character Klondike Kate.—
Adjective
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Then there’s reality TV star Spencer Pratt, an outspoken Bass critic, who launched a campaign rooted in his fury over the city’s handling of the fire — and the loss of his family’s home in the flames.—
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The outspoken auteur, considered one of Iranian cinema’s greatest living masters, is still in the crosshairs of the government known as the Islamic Republic of Iran.—
Adjective
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Simons also emphasized that December jobs data are among the noisiest of the year and should not be over-interpreted.—
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And then there is the noisy parade of vehicles passing nearby on their way to who knows what?—
Adjective
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There was more screaming and yelling for people who wanted to get a ventilator available in their home.—
Adjective
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Some of these skew toward the quirkier side, and a couple are blatant reaches (January wish lists are where our most delirious aspirations belong, after all).—
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These bans are blatant discrimination, and the Court should say so.—
Cite this Entry
“Strident.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strident. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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