A word that sounds like what it describes

What is Onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia Definition

Onomatopoeia indicates a word that sounds like what it refers to or describes. The letter sounds combined in the word mimic the natural sound of the object or action, such as hiccup. A word is considered onomatopoetic if its pronunciation is a vocal imitation of the sound associated with the word.

Use of Onomatopoeia in Literature

Onomatopoeia is used by writers and poets as figurative language to create a heightened experience for the reader. Onomatopoetic words are descriptive and provide a sensory effect and vivid imagery in terms of sight and sound. This literary device is prevalent in poetry, as onomatopoetic words are also conducive to rhymes.

Common Examples of Onomatopoeia

• The buzzing bee flew away.
• The sack fell into the river with a splash.
• The books fell on the table with a loud thump.
• He looked at the roaring
• The rustling leaves kept me awake.

The different sounds of animals are also considered as examples of onomatopoeia. You will recognize the following sounds easily:

• Meow
• Moo
• Neigh
• Tweet
• Oink
• Baa

Groups of Onomatopoeic Words

Onomatopoeic words come in combinations, as they reflect different sounds of a single object. For example, a group of words reflecting different sounds of water are: plop, splash, gush, sprinkle, drizzle, and drip.

Similarly, words like growl, giggle, grunt, murmur, blurt, and chatter denote different kinds of human voice sounds.

Moreover, we can identify a group of words related to different sounds of wind, such as swish, swoosh, whiff, whoosh, whizz, and whisper.

Onomatopoeia in Comics

Comics show their own examples of different types of onomatopoeia. Different comics use different panels where bubbles show different types of sounds. Although sometimes authors and illustrators show the exact sounds of animals, or the sound of the falling of something or some machines, somethings they create their own sounds as well. These sounds depend upon the inventiveness of the illustrator as well as the writer. Most of these sounds are crash, zap, pow, bang, or repetition of different letters in quick succession intended to create an impression of sounds.

Impacts of Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia not only creates rhythm but also beats, as the poets try to create sounds imitating the sound creators. These sounds create a sensory impression in the minds of the readers which they understand. The readers also understand the impacts of the sounds, their likely meanings, and their roles in creating those meanings. When used in poetry, onomatopoeia creates a rhythmic pattern that imitates the sounds in reality. This vice versa movement of sounds shows the onomatopoeic use of words to create a metrical pattern and rhyme scheme.

Use of Onomatopoeia in Sentences

1. When cats are crying miaow, miaow, it means they are hungry.
2. As soon as the mother heard the bell sing ding dong, she excitedly ran to open the door.
3. When he fell down, there was a ‘whoosh’ he caused a big splash in the water which caused the other swimmers to get up.
4. When Mathew dropped his mobile, he heard a ‘crash’ that made him cry immediately.
5. Once upon a time, Jeanie rubbed an old lamp and ‘poof’ a real genie appeared in front of her.

Examples of Onomatopoeia in Literature

Onomatopoeia is frequently employed in the literature. We notice, in the following examples, the use of onomatopoeia gives rhythm to the texts. This makes the descriptions livelier and more interesting, appealing directly to the senses of the reader.

Below, a few Onomatopoeia examples are highlighted in bold letters:

Example #1: Come Down, O Maid By Alfred Lord Tennyson

“The moan of doves in immemorial elms,
And murmuring of innumerable bees…”

Example #2: The Tempest By William Shakespeare

“Hark, hark!
Bow-wow.
The watch-dogs bark!
Bow-wow.
Hark, hark! I hear
The strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry, ‘cock-a-diddle-dow!’”

Example #3: For Whom the Bell Tolls By Ernest Hemingway

“He saw nothing and heard nothing but he could feel his heart pounding and then he heard the clack on stone and the leaping, dropping clicks of a small rock falling.”

Example #4: The Marvelous Toy By Tom Paxton

“It went zip when it moved and bop when it stopped,
And whirr when it stood still.
I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.”

Example #5: Get Me to the Church on Time By Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe

“I’m getting married in the morning!
Ding dong! the bells are gonna chime.”

Examples #6: The Bells by Edgar Allen Poe

Keeping time, time, time,
As he knells, knells, knells,
In a happy Runic rhyme,
To the rolling of the bells—
Of the bells, bells, bells—
To the tolling of the bells,
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells—
Bells, bells, bells—
To the moaning and the groaning of the bells.

Onomatopoeia and Phanopoeia

Onomatopoeia, in its more complicated use, takes the form of phanopoeia. Phanopoeia is a form of onomatopoeia that describes the sense of things, rather than their natural sounds. D. H. Lawrence, in his poem Snake, illustrates the use of this form:

“He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom
And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down, over the
edge of the stone trough
And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,
And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness
He sipped with his straight mouth…”

The rhythm and length of the above lines, along with the use of “hissing” sounds, create a picture of a snake in the minds of the readers.

Function of Onomatopoeia

Generally, words are used to tell what is happening. Onomatopoeia, on the other hand, helps readers to hear the sounds of the words they reflect. Hence, the reader cannot help but enter the world created by the poet with the aid of these words. The beauty of onomatopoeic words lies in the fact that they are bound to have an effect on the readers’ senses, whether that effect is understood or not. Moreover, a simple plain expression does not have the same emphatic effect that conveys an idea powerfully to the readers. The use of onomatopoeic words helps create emphasis.

Synonyms of Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia does not have any synonyms. However, some words come very close to it in meanings such as sounds, imitation of sounds, onomatope, alliteration, echo, echoism, and mimesis. Yet, they have different meanings of their own.

Onomatopoeia (also onomatopeia in American English), is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia.

What are the examples of common nouns?

A common noun is a non-specific person, place, or thing. For example, dog, girl, and country are examples of common nouns. In contrast, proper nouns name a specific person, place, or thing. Common nouns are typically not capitalized, but there are two exceptions to this rule.

What is the name of a word that describes itself?

autological

Where does word come from?

Etymology (/ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/) is the study of the history of words. By extension, the etymology of a word means its origin and development throughout history.

What does the term Otology mean?

Otology is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the ear and its diseases. Otology is a branch of medicine and surgery; as such otologists are also qualified to perform surgical interventions.

What is the term for ringing in your ears?

About 1 in 5 people experience the perception of noise or ringing in the ears. It’s called tinnitus.

What is Otology the study of?

Otology is the study, diagnosis and treatment of ear disorders and diseases.

What are Otological symptoms?

Otological symptoms (otalgia, subjective hearing loss, blocked ear sensation, tinnitus and vertigo) associated with temporomandibular disorders are documented features of Costen’s syndrome. However, the origin of these symptoms and the causes of hearing loss are unknown.

What is an otologist do?

An otologist or neurotologist is a highly specialized ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor who may be able to find the root of your problem and recommend procedures to treat your: Complex ear disease. Hearing loss that could be improved with an implantable hearing device.

What is an otorhinolaryngologist?

So an otorhinolaryngologist is a physician who studied, trained in, and treats diseases of the ear, nose, throat, face, head and neck. The popular acronym for this specialty branch of medicine is ENT, or an ear, nose, and throat specialist.

What is an otolaryngologist NHS?

Otorhinolaryngologists (also known as otolaryngologists or ear, nose and throat or ENT Surgeons) are surgical specialists who diagnose, evaluate and manage a wide range of diseases of the head and neck, including the ear, nose and throat regions.

Asked by: Brent Leffler

Score: 4.3/5
(29 votes)

Onomatopoeia came into English via Late Latin and ultimately traces back to Greek onoma, meaning «name,» and poiein, meaning «to make.» (Onoma can be found in such terms as onomastics, which refers to the study of proper names and their origins, while poiein gave us such words as poem and poet.)

Who invented onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoetic words sound like what they describe: «pop» and «crack,» for example. The origins of onomatopoeia can be traced to the ancient Greeks. The word onomatopoeia comes from the Greek language.

Where is onomatopoeia found?

Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech in which words evoke the actual sound of the thing they refer to or describe. The “boom” of a firework exploding, the “tick tock” of a clock, and the “ding dong” of a doorbell are all examples of onomatopoeia.

What is onomatopoeia based on?

Onomatopoeia (also onomatopeia in American English), is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as oink, meow (or miaow), roar, and chirp.

Does onomatopoeia have to be a real word?

Despite its complex look and sound, onomatopoeia actually has a simple function in the English language. It’s defined as “the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.” To put it simply, it’s a word that sounds like what it means.

26 related questions found

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy


I love onomatopoeia. Not everyone does, so it’s something I have to use with care. But just because I can’t use «thwack» as often as I’d like, there are plenty of words that sound like what they mean that aren’t onomatopoeia. The sound of the word evokes its meaning.

There’s a great exchange in The West Wing that illustrates this. (I tried to find a video clip, but alas, no luck).

Ivanovich : Sam, it is freezing too cold in Rheykjavik, it is freezing too cold in Helsinki, it is freezing too cold in Staad, why must every American president bound out of an automobile like he’s at a yacht club, while in… comparison,  while in comparison, our leader looks like… I don’t even know what word is.

Sam : Frumpy?
 

Ivanovich : I don’t know what ‘frumpy’ is, but onomatopoeticly, sounds right. 

Frumpy sounds like what it is. You don’t have to know its definition to get a good idea of its meaning. A quick trip to the thesaurus got me these other words that could have been used instead:  

badly dressed, baggy, blowsy, dingy, drab, dull, homely, old-fashioned, outdated, plain, poorly dressed, shabby, sloppy, stodgy, unfashionable, unkempt, unstylish 

None of them convey what frumpy does, because the sound of the word is so perfectly aligned with what it means.

There are a lot of great words out there that are just as descriptive and can add richness to your writing. It’s one of the reasons I love skitter. And clatter. And oozed. They bring a soundtrack to the scene that can make it come alive in a reader’s mind — and ears. 

Words have baggage. They have associations with things and when we read them, we also think about all those associations. This is why a single word can perfectly describe something, and why the wrong word can really make a sentence awkward. 

The syrup oozed out of the bottle.

Sounds gross doesn’t it? But ooze means to move slowly or gradually. Syrup does ooze. It’s just been associated with slime and muck so much we don’t think of it as anything «clean.» Even the cliche, «he oozed charm» has a negative connotation.

There’s a reason writing folks extol the virtues of using just the right word. Because there’s a big perception difference between, sweat oozed across her forehead and sweat glistened on her brow, even though they mean the same thing. Her forehead was sweaty.