spirant — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A non-sibilant fricative.

   Usage

   • Dated

   Synonyms

   fricative

   Examples

   Spirant consonants are those in which the mouth passage is simply narrowed without any actual contact.

   The raising of the stem indicated the opening of the consonant to a ‘spirant’ […]

Adjective

1. of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as ‘f’, ‘s’, ‘z’, or ‘th’ in both ‘thin’ and ‘then’)

   Synonyms

   fricativecontinuantsibilantstrident

Noun

1. a continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract

   Synonyms

   fricative consonantfricative

   Broader terms

   continuant consonantcontinuant