stentorian
adjective

- using a very loud voice, or (of a voice) very loud

- a stentorian voice is very loud and strong

The Cambridge Dictionary, Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The word “stentorian“ has an interesting etymology rooted in Greek mythology. It is derived from Stentor, the name of a legendary Greek herald in the Trojan War. In Homer‘s Iliad, Stentor was described as having an exceptionally powerful voice, said to be as loud as fifty men combined.

The name Stentor itself comes from the Greek verb stenein which means “to groan“ or “to moan”.

“Stentorian“ entered the English language around 1600 meaning “extremely loud“ or “of powerful voice”. It has maintained its meaning over time, still referring to an extremely loud or powerful voice. It‘s often used in phrases like “stentorian tones“ or “stentorian voice“ to describe particularly loud or commanding speech.

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LOUDMOUTHS

There are two individuals who have been recognized for having exceptionally loud voices:

- Jill Drake: A teaching assistant from Kent, England, holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest human voice. Her scream was measured at 129 dBA, which is equivalent to noise levels at an AC/DC concert and about 30 dB louder than a jackhammer.

- Annalisa Flanagan: An Irish primary school teacher who holds the world record for the loudest shout. She yelled the word “quiet“ at a level of 121.7 dBA, which is almost as loud as a jet engine.

Both women have demonstrated extraordinarily loud voices, with their shouts reaching levels that can cause physical discomfort or even pain to listeners.

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SOUND FACTS

- Normal conversation is typically around 60-65 decibels.

- At 90-95 decibels, people start to experience hearing damage.

- At 125 decibels, humans start to experience pain.

- Sounds above 125 decibels can cause permanent ear damage.

These record-breaking shouts are so loud that they approach or exceed the threshold of pain and can potentially cause hearing damage with prolonged exposure.

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SYNONYMS

for “loud voice”:

a foghorn, a voice that carries, air raid siren, at full volume, at the top of one‘s lungs, back-row voice, banshee wail, bellow, blare, blast, booming voice, bull‘s roar, clarion call, deafening roar, ear-piercing shriek, earth-shaking voice, earsplitting volume, foghorn blast, full-throated yell, gale-force voice, glass-shattering cry, high-decibel voice, hollers, hooting, hurricane of sound, lion‘s roar, lungbuster, megaphone voice, mighty roar, nerve-shattering cry, operatic projection, piercing cry, powerful pipes, resounding voice, reverberating tone, roar, roof-raising voice, screams, shouts, sonic boom, sound barrier breaker, STENTORIAN voice, thunder,  thunderous voice, to raise the roof, to wake the dead, trumpet-like voice, voice like a bullhorn, voice of thunder, wall-shaking voice, window-rattling voice, yells, your outside voice

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a sentence, say something like:

“Our cat‘s STENTORIAN meow at 3 AM made us wonder if we‘d accidentally adopted a mountain lion.”

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HAVE A LAUGH and connect today’s OWAD with yesterday’s in a witty way… say something like:

“ ‘I’LL BE A MONKEY’S UNCLE!‘ he declared in a STENTORIAN voice that made even the primates at the zoo cover their ears.”

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