Meaning & use
hoarse
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Rough, scratchy and weak in sound, because of a sore throat or too much shouting.
Grammar: Describes a voice or a person: a hoarse voice; she sounded hoarse.
Patterns
- a hoarse voice
- sound hoarse
- go hoarse
After the game, my voice was hoarse from cheering.
He sounded hoarse and kept coughing.
The singer cancelled because she had gone hoarse.
adjectivecomparableliterary
Producing or having a deep, rough sound, as of a bird or an animal.
Grammar: Used for sounds, often with cry or call: a hoarse cry.
Patterns
- a hoarse cry
- a hoarse laugh
A crow let out a hoarse cry from the fence.
He gave a hoarse laugh and shook his head.
The frogs made a hoarse chorus after dark.
Word forms
| comparative | hoarser |
|---|---|
| superlative | hoarsest |
Common combinations
- hoarse voice
- She spoke in a hoarse voice after the flu.
- shout yourself hoarse
- The fans shouted themselves hoarse.
- sound hoarse
- You sound hoarse; are you ill?
- hoarse whisper
- He spoke in a hoarse whisper.
- hoarse cry
- A hoarse cry came from the darkness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- husky
- Husky can sound attractive and low, while hoarse suggests soreness or strain.
- croaky
- Croaky is more informal and suggests a frog-like sound.
- raspy
- Raspy stresses a scraping quality in the sound.
- gruff
- Gruff describes a rough, unfriendly manner as well as voice.
Opposites
Word family
- hoarsely adverb
- in a rough, scratchy voice
- hoarseness noun
- the condition of having a rough voice
- hoarsen verb
- to make or become hoarse
Commonly confused: hoarse or horse?
hoarse vs horse
A horse is an animal. Hoarse describes a rough voice, though the two sound the same in many accents.
Practice
After the concert, Lena was ___ from singing so loudly.
Choose one answer.
Hoarse describes a rough voice. Horse is an animal, and coarse means rough in texture.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hoarse”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.