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voice adjectives loud • Her voice was loud and clear. quiet/low/soft (= not loud ) • When he spoke, his voice was soft and gentle. a deep/low voice (= near the bottom of the range of sounds ) • She heard the deep voice of her father downstairs. a high voice (= near the top of the range of sounds ) • They used to repeat her words in silly high voices. a clear voice • Natalia’s clear voice rang out. a small voice (= quiet and not strong or confident ) • She answered in a small voice, ‘I think I was afraid.’ a trembling/shaking voice (= a voice that shakes because someone is very nervous or frightened ) • He stood up and began to speak in a trembling voice. a squeaky voice (= very high and not strong ) • The mouse talks in a little squeaky voice. a husky voice (= low and slightly rough but in an attractive way ) • She spoke in a husky voice, as though her throat was sore. a gravelly voice (= very deep and slightly rough ) • He sang to her in his famous gravelly voice. a sing-song voice (= a voice that goes high and low in a pleasant musical way ) • She began to recite the poem in a sing-song voice. verbs raise your voice (= speak more loudly ) • She did not raise her voice, or express any anger. lower your voice (= speak more quietly ) • He lowered his voice to a whisper. keep your voice down (= not speak loudly ) • Keep your voice down, they’ll hear you! lose your voice (= lose the ability to speak, for example when you have a cold ) • I'll have to whisper because I've lost my voice. sb’s voice rises (= becomes louder or higher ) • Her voice rose in panic. sb’s voice drops (= becomes lower ) • Lockhart’s voice dropped so that it could only just be heard. sb’s voice breaks/cracks (= becomes higher or unsteady because they are upset ) • Her voice broke and she was unable to continue. a boy’s voice breaks (= becomes deep as he becomes a man ) • His voice had only recently broken. sb’s voice trembles/shakes (= sounds unsteady ) • His voice shook with anger. sb’s voice trails off/away (= becomes quieter until you cannot hear it ) • ‘It's just that … ’, his voice trailed away uncertainly. phrases in a loud/soft/deep etc voice • ‘Where is she?’, Kate demanded in a shrill voice. sb’s tone of voice • His tone of voice was aggressive. at the top of your voice (= in a very loud voice ) • She shouted ‘Help!’ at the top of her voice.
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noun sounds you make when speaking or singing ADJ. beautiful, fine, good, lovely, pleasant, sweet She has a beautiful singing voice. | big, booming, loud, ringing, sonorous, stentorian | light, small, thin, tiny, weak | low, soft | deep, gravelly, gruff, hoarse, husky | falsetto, high, high-pitched, shrill, squeaky | clear | muffled, muted, strangulated | harsh, penetrating, sharp | nasal | cracked, rasping, slurred I could tell from his slurred voice that he'd been drinking. | fruity, mellifluous, rich, silky, smooth, velvet, velvety | sing-song | gentle, kindly, soothing | cheerful, hearty | friendly, warm | flat, matter-of-fact, unemotional | calm, cool | firm, steady | urgent | authoritative | distinctive | raised | hushed | angry | strained, tired | plaintive | funny, silly | disembodied | inner An inner voice told him that what he had done was wrong. | singing | alto, baritone, bass, contralto, soprano, tenor, treble VERB + VOICE hear I could hear voices in the next room. | raise She's a teacher who never has to raise her voice to discipline the children. | drop, lower She dropped her voice to a whisper. You're shouting?please lower your voice. | project Try to project your voice so that the people at the back of the room can hear you. | lose She's lost her voice and won't be able to sing tonight. | find He swallowed nervously as he tried to find his voice. | put on She put on a silly voice as she imitated her boss. VOICE + VERB go up, rise His voice rose in angry protest. | die away, drop, fade, tail away/off, trail away/off ‘So he won't come … ’ her voice trailed off in disappointment. | be filled/tinged with sth Her voice was filled with emotion. | deepen, harden, soften, thicken His voice suddenly thickened with emotion. | echo Her voice echoed through the silent house. | whisper ‘Be quiet!’ a voice whispered in his ear. | hiss, purr | call (out), cry (out) ‘Who is it?’ a female voice called out. | scream, shout She was dimly aware of voices shouting. | boom (out) | cut through sth, pierce sth His deep voice cut through the silence. | break, crack His voice broke with emotion. His voice broke (= became a deep, man's voice) when he was 14. | falter, quaver, shake, tremble, waver Her voice shook with fear. | drone (on) The flat, unemotional voice droned on. VOICE + NOUN recognition the computer's voice recognition capability | mail (also voicemail), mailbox, message, traffic | synthesizer PREP. in a/your ~ ‘Get out!’ she shouted in a shrill voice. There was fury in his voice as he answered her. PHRASES at the top of your voice I was shouting at the top of my voice but she couldn't hear me. | a babble/hum/murmur of voices They could hear a loud babble of voices coming from the crowded bar. | in good voice The home fans were in good voice (= making a loud noise) before the match. She was in good voice (= singing well) at the concert tonight. | keep your voice down Please keep your voice down so as not to wake the children. | keep your voice level/steady He managed to keep his voice steady despite his feelings of panic. | tone of voice ‘Do you have to speak to me in that tone of voice?’ she said sadly. expression of ideas/opinions ADJ. critical, dissenting Dissenting voices at the newspaper are very rare. | lone a lone voice of dissent | powerful Powerful voices in the Senate are determined to bring down the president. | distinctive a writer with a highly distinctive voice VERB + VOICE find Refugees have been unable to find a voice in politics. | add, lend Many senior politicians have lent their voices to the campaign. | give The magazine gave voice to hundreds of oppressed factory workers. | listen to PREP. ~ of to listen to the voice of conscience PHRASES make your voice heard a society in which individuals are able to make their voices heard | speak with one voice The teachers speak with one voice when they demand an end to the cuts.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs