Meaning & use
infrasonic
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Relating to sound waves with a frequency below the range that humans can hear.
Grammar: Used before a noun to describe a type of sound or wave; not used with 'more' or 'most'.
Patterns
- infrasonic waves
- infrasonic frequency
- infrasonic sound
Elephants communicate using infrasonic calls that travel long distances.
The microphone is sensitive enough to record infrasonic vibrations.
Some animals can detect infrasonic frequencies that are inaudible to humans.
Common combinations
- infrasonic frequency
- The device emits an infrasonic frequency of 10 Hz.
- infrasonic waves
- Infrasonic waves from earthquakes can be detected worldwide.
- infrasonic sound
- Whales produce infrasonic sound to communicate across oceans.
- infrasonic range
- Frequencies below 20 Hz fall into the infrasonic range.
Synonyms and how they differ
- subsonic
- Refers to speeds below the speed of sound, not to sound frequency; do not confuse the two.
Opposites
Word family
- infrasound noun
- Sound waves with frequencies below the audible range.
- ultrasonic adjective
- Relating to sound frequencies above the audible range.
- sonic adjective
- Relating to sound or the speed of sound.
Commonly confused: infrasonic or ultrasonic? infrasonic or subsonic?
infrasonic vs ultrasonic
Ultrasonic means too high to hear, while infrasonic means too low to hear.
infrasonic vs subsonic
Subsonic means slower than the speed of sound; infrasonic refers to low frequency, not speed.
Practice
Which frequency is infrasonic?
Choose one answer.
5 Hz is below the human hearing range (about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz), so it is infrasonic. The other options are within or above the audible range.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “infrasonic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.