-d ə nt adjective
Etymology: Latin strident-, stridens, present participle of stridere, stridēre to make a harsh noise, to creak, hiss; akin to Greek trizein to screech, creak, hiss, strix owl, Latin strix screech owl; all of imitative origin
1.
a. : marked by insistent, discordant, harsh, shrill, or grating noise or sound : characterized by an annoying often abnormal sibilance
his mouth opens … and from it comes a noise, a strident sigh, a raucous moan — Douglas Newton
the strident babble with which natives are accustomed to make the day hideous — Rudyard Kipling
talks at the top of a very high and strident voice — Rose Macaulay
b. : having an unpleasant usually irritating effect : loudly or obtrusively commanding notice or recognition : blatant
the colors are pure, but they are not strident — H.D.Walker
his writing took on a faster tempo and a more strident tone — Max Lerner
2. : characterized by friction that is comparatively turbulent in that there are two friction-producing components in the articulation instead of only one
sh, which has both tongue-teeth and tongue-palate friction, is strident , but th, which has tongue-teeth friction only, is not
— compare mellow
Synonyms: see loud , vociferous