Top Keywords to Help You Discover & Develop Your Voice

Do you intimately know your voice? Are you able to describe your voice? Here are some top keywords from the Macmillan Dictionary to get you started. 

1. adenoidal ADJECTIVE - if someone’s voice is adenoidal, some of the sound seems to come through their nose
2. appealing ADJECTIVE - an appealing look, voice, etc. shows that you want help, approval, or agreement
3. a voice like a foghorn PHRASE - a very loud voice
4. breathy ADJECTIVE - with loud breathing noises
5. brittle ADJECTIVE - if you speak in a brittle voice, you sound as if you are about to cry
6. croaky ADJECTIVE - if someone’s voice sounds croaky, they speak in a low rough voice that sounds like they have a sore throat
7. dead ADJECTIVE - if someone’s eyes are dead, or if their voice is dead, they feel or show no emotion
8. disembodied ADJECTIVE - a disembodied voice comes from someone who you cannot see
9. flat ADJECTIVE - spoken in a voice that does not go up and down. This word is often used for describing the speech of people from a particular region.
10. fruity ADJECTIVE - a fruity voice or laugh is deep and strong in a pleasant way
11. grating ADJECTIVE - a grating voice, laugh, or sound is unpleasant and annoying
12. gravelly ADJECTIVE - a gravelly voice sounds low and rough
13. gruff ADJECTIVE - a gruff voice has a rough low sound
14. guttural ADJECTIVE - a guttural sound is deep and made at the back of your throat
15. high-pitched ADJECTIVE - a high-pitched voice or sound is very high
16. hoarse ADJECTIVE - someone who is hoarse or has a hoarse voice speaks in a low rough voice, usually because their throat is sore
17. honeyed ADJECTIVE - honeyed words or a honeyed voice sound very nice but you cannot trust the person who is speaking
18. husky ADJECTIVE - a husky voice is deep and sounds hoarse (=as if you have a sore throat), often in an attractive way
19. in an undertone PHRASE - using a quiet voice so that someone cannot hear you
20. low ADJECTIVE - a low voice or sound is quiet and difficult to hear
21. modulated ADJECTIVE - a modulated voice is controlled and pleasant to listen to
22. monotonous ADJECTIVE - a monotonous sound or voice is boring and unpleasant because it does not change in loudness or become higher or lower
23. nasal ADJECTIVE - someone with a nasal voice sounds as if they are speaking through their nose
24. orotund ADJECTIVE- VERY FORMAL an orotund voice is loud and clear
25. penetrating ADJECTIVE - a penetrating voice or sound is so high or loud that it makes you slightly uncomfortable
26. raucous ADJECTIVE - a raucous voice or noise is loud and sounds rough
27. rough ADJECTIVE - a rough voice is not soft and is unpleasant to listen to
28. shrill ADJECTIVE - a shrill noise or voice is very loud, high, and unpleasant
29. silvery ADJECTIVE - MAINLY LITERARY a silvery voice or sound is clear, light, and pleasant
30. singsong ADJECTIVE - if you speak in a singsong voice, your voice rises and falls in a musical way
31. small ADJECTIVE - a small voice or sound is quiet
32. smoky ADJECTIVE - a smoky voice or smoky eyes are sexually attractive in a slightly mysterious way
33. soft-spoken ADJECTIVE - speaking or said in a quiet gentle voice
34. someone’s dulcet tones PHRASE - MAINLY LITERARY the sound of someone’s voice as they speak
35. sotto voce ADJECTIVE - FORMAL in a very quiet voice
36. stentorian ADJECTIVE - MAINLY LITERARY a stentorian voice sounds very loud and severe
37. strangled ADJECTIVE - a strangled sound is one that someone stops before they finish making it
38. strident ADJECTIVE - a strident voice or sound is loud and unpleasant
39. taut ADJECTIVE - used about something such as a voice or expression that shows someone is nervous or angry
40. thick ADJECTIVE - if your voice is thick with an emotion, it sounds less clear than usual because of the emotion
41. thickly ADVERB - with a low voice that comes mostly from your throat
42. thin ADJECTIVE - a thin voice or sound is high and unpleasant to listen to
43. throaty ADJECTIVE - a throaty sound is low and seems to come from deep in your throat
44. tight ADJECTIVE - a tight voice or expression shows that you are nervous or annoyed
45. toneless ADJECTIVE - a toneless voice does not express any emotion
46. tremulous ADJECTIVE - LITERARY if something such as your voice or smile is tremulous, it is not steady, for example because you are afraid or excited
47. wheezy ADJECTIVE - a wheezy noise sounds as if it is made by someone who has difficulty breathing
48. wobbly ADJECTIVE - if your voice is wobbly, it goes up and down, usually because you are frightened, not confident, or are going to cry.

Source for keywords: Macmillan Dictionary