consonants

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Plural of consonant: speech sounds made by blocking or narrowing the airflow in the mouth or throat, such as /p/ and /s/.

   Grammar: Plural form; takes a plural verb: consonants are harder to hear in noise.

   Patterns

   • consonants in something

   English has more consonants than vowels in its sound system.

   Babies usually learn simple consonants like /m/ and /b/ first.

   In this song the singer stretches the vowels and shortens the consonants.

2. 2nounplural

   Plural of consonant in writing: the letters of the alphabet that are not a, e, i, o or u.

   Grammar: Refers to letters on the page: the word strengths has only one vowel among its consonants.

   Patterns

   • double consonants

   Circle all the consonants in your name.

   Words such as rhythm are tricky because they have so many consonants in a row.

   Spanish students often struggle with clusters of consonants at the start of English words.

Common combinations

voiced consonants

The sounds /b/ and /d/ are voiced consonants.

silent consonants

The k in knee is one of many silent consonants in English.

double consonants

Double consonants appear in words like hopping and summer.

consonant cluster

The word strike begins with a consonant cluster.

vowels and consonants

Children sort letters into vowels and consonants.

Synonyms and how they differ

stops

Stops are a narrower group of consonants made by fully blocking the air, such as /t/ and /k/.

fricatives

Fricatives are consonants made with a hissing flow of air, such as /s/ and /f/, so the word is more specific.

Opposites

Word family

consonant noun

singular form of this word

consonantal adjective

relating to or like a consonant

consonance noun

agreement, or repetition of consonant sounds in poetry

Commonly confused: consonants or consonance?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “consonants”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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