clang
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A loud, ringing sound, like that made by free-hanging metal objects striking each other.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
klangIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈklæŋ
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
A loud, ringing sound, like that made by free-hanging metal objects striking each other.
The cry of some birds, including the crane and the goose.
Quality of tone.
verb
intransitive
To give out a clang; to resound.
transitive
To strike (objects) together so as to produce a clang.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A loud, ringing sound, like that made by free-hanging metal objects striking each other.
Used this way, clang is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- clangor , rarer, so it draws attention
- clangour , used mainly in Regional English
- jangle , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use clang
- “He could hear the clang of distant bells.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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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.