| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | high-pitched, harsh in sound |
| Synonyms: | acute, argute, blaring, blatant, cacophonous, clanging, clangorous, deafening, discordant, ear-piercing, earsplitting, high, metallic, noisy, penetrating, piercing, piping, raucous, screeching, sharp, strident, thin, treble |
| Antonyms: | low, soft |
| Main Entry: | clarion |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | clear, stirring sound |
| Synonyms: | blaring, definite, inspiring, loud, ringing, sharp, shrill, strident |
| Main Entry: | earsplitting |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | loud |
| Synonyms: | blaring, deafening, noisy, penetrating, piercing, ringing, shrill, strident, thunderous |
| Main Entry: | grating |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | irritating; scraping |
| Synonyms: | annoying, disagreeable, discordant, displeasing, dissonant, dry, grinding, harsh, harsh-sounding, hoarse, irksome, jarring, offensive, rasping, raucous, rough, shrill, squeaky, strident, stridulent, stridulous, unpleasant, vexatious |
| Antonyms: | pleasing, soothing |
| Main Entry: | intense |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | forceful, severe; passionate |
| Synonyms: | acute, agonizing, all-consuming, ardent, biting, bitter, burning, close, concentrated, consuming, cutting, deep, diligent, eager, earnest, energetic, exaggerated, exceptional, excessive, exquisite, extraordinary, extreme, fanatical, fervent, fervid, fierce, forcible, full, great, hard, harsh, heightened, impassioned, intensified, intensive, keen, marked, piercing, powerful, profound, protracted, pungent, sharp, shrill, stinging, strained, strong, supreme, undue, vehement, violent, vivid, zealous |
| Notes: | emotions are intense while sustained application or attention is intensive; intense arises from within and intensive comes from outside (it is imposed or assumed) |
| Antonyms: | calm, dull, low-key, mild, moderate |
| Main Entry: | penetrating |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | stinging, harsh |
| Synonyms: | biting, carrying, clear-cut, crisp, cutting, edged, entering, forcing, going through, infiltrating, ingoing, intrusive, passing through, penetrant, permeating, pervasive, piercing, pointed, puncturing, pungent, sharp, shrill, strong, trenchant |
| Antonyms: | blunt, dull |
| Main Entry: | piercing |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | intense to the senses |
| Synonyms: | acute, agonizing, arctic, biting, bitter, blaring, cold, deafening, earsplitting, excruciating, exquisite, fierce, freezing, frosty, high, high-pitched, keen, knifelike, loud, numbing, painful, penetrating, powerful, racking, raw, roaring, severe, sharp, shattering, shooting, shrill, stabbing, stentorian, stentorious, thin, treble, wintry |
| Antonyms: | low, soft, weak |
| Main Entry: | vociferous |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | loud, insistent |
| Synonyms: | boisterous, clamant, clamorous, distracting, loud-mouthed, noisy, obstreperous, ranting, shouting, shrill, strident, uproarious, vehement, vociferant |
| Antonyms: | quiet, silent |
| Main Entry: | jarring |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | discordant |
| Synonyms: | clashing, grating, harsh, loud, rasping, shrill, unharmonious |