clamorous

English

WOTD – 18 September 2016

Alternative forms

Etymology

clamor + -ous; compare Latin clāmōrōsus and French clamoreux (obsolete), from Latin clāmōrem.

Pronunciation

Adjective

clamorous (comparative more clamorous, superlative most clamorous)

  1. Of or pertaining to clamor.
    1. (of sounds) Of great intensity.
      Synonym: loud
      a clamorous fire alarm
    2. (of people, animals or things) Creating a loud noise.
      Synonym: noisy
      clamorous trumpets
    3. (of emotions or feelings) Expressed loudly.
      • 1769, Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, London: A. Millar, Part 1, Section 2, Chapter 4, p. 42,
        We are disgusted with that clamorous grief, which, without any delicacy, calls upon our compassion with sighs and tears and importunate lamentations.
      • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter 18, in Pride and Prejudice, volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: [] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton [], OCLC 38659585, page 226:
        [] in the clamorous happiness of Lydia herself in bidding farewell, the more gentle adieus of her sisters were uttered without being heard.
    4. (of times, places, events or activities) Filled with or accompanied by a great deal of noise.
      Synonym: noisy
      a clamorous market
    5. (of people or speech) Insistently expressing a desire for something.
      Synonym: vociferous
      • c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or VVhat You VVill”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iv]:
        Be clamorous and leap all civil bounds
        Rather than make unprofited return.
      • 1656, William Sanderson, A Compleat History of the Lives and Reigns of Mary Queen of Scotland, and of [] James the Sixth, King of Scotland, and [] King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, the First, London, p. 418,
        [] Overbury in the mean time might write clamorous and furious Letters to his Friends,
      • 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, Volume 2, Book 4, Chapter 7, Part 1, p. 148,
        The people became clamorous to get land, and the rich and the great, we may believe, were perfectly determined not to give them any part of theirs.
      • 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, Ruth, London: Chapman and Hall, Volume 3, Chapter 2, p. 58,
        They were clamorous for an expedition to the hills, before the calm stillness of the autumn should be disturbed by storms.
  2. Having especially (and often unpleasantly) bright or contrasting colours or patterns.
    Synonyms: garish, gaudy, loud
    • 1970, Patrick White, The Vivisector, New York: Avon, 1980, Chapter 6, p. 376,
      She led them along a path edged with round, whitewashed stones and equally rounded basils of a clamorous green.
    • 2015, John Irving, Avenue of the Mysteries, New York: Simon and Schuster, Chapter 9, p. 99,
      It was impossible to overlook the clamorous parrots on the new missionary’s Hawaiian shirt.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.