acoustic
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
About the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhkoostikSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈkustɪk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
usually in the plural
The properties or qualities of a room or building that determine how sound is transmitted in it.
A hollow-body guitar of the older variety, in contradistinction to an electric guitar.
adjective
Pertaining to the sense of hearing, the organs of hearing, or the science of sounds.
architectureof building materials
Used for soundproofing or modifying sound.
of a device or system
Using sound energy in its operation.
music
Naturally producing or produced by an instrument without electrical amplification or the need thereof.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The properties or qualities of a room or building that determine how sound is transmitted in it.
In this sense, 'acoustic' refers to the sound quality of a space itself, not a musical instrument. It's crucial for performance venues, distinguishing a good listening experience from a bad one, unlike 'volume' or 'loudness'.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
Concert hall review
“The hall's acoustic was superb, enhancing every note.”
Architectural design meeting
“We need to consider the acoustic when designing the auditorium.”
Home theater enthusiast discussion
“Improving the room's acoustic can greatly enhance movie viewing.”
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use acoustic
- “He plays an acoustic guitar because he loves the natural sound.”
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: pertaining to the sense of hearing
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.