Voiceless (Adjective)
Meaning 1
Deprived of the rights of citizenship especially the right to vote; "labor was voiceless"; "disenfrenchised masses took to the streets".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The marginalized community remained voiceless in the face of government oppression, unable to express their grievances through the ballot box.
- As a non-citizen, she felt voiceless in the debate over immigration reform, despite being directly affected by the policies.
- The voiceless masses were forced to rely on sympathetic activists to speak out on their behalf, amplifying their demands for justice.
- In the early 20th century, women were largely voiceless in the political process, denied the right to vote and participate in decision-making.
- The poor and disenfranchised remained voiceless in the city's development plans, their interests ignored in favor of wealthy investors and corporations.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
Uttered without voice; "could hardly hear her breathed plea, `Help me'"; "voiceless whispers".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- Her voiceless whisper seemed to carry more urgency than a shouted plea.
- The victim's voiceless screams were lost in the cacophony of the busy street.
- In the quiet darkness, I strained to hear the voiceless plea for help that seemed to come from nowhere.
- Her lips formed the words, but a voiceless gasp was all that escaped her frozen throat.
- The child's voiceless sobs were more heart-wrenching than any loud crying could have been.
Synonyms
Meaning 3
Being without sound through injury or illness and thus incapable of all but whispered speech.
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The singer was left voiceless after a severe case of laryngitis and had to cancel her tour.
- After the surgery, she was voiceless for several weeks and had to communicate through writing.
- The patient was voiceless due to a severe throat infection and could only whisper to her family.
- The vocal strain from screaming at the concert left him voiceless for days, unable to speak above a whisper.
- The actress was voiceless for a month after a vocal cord injury and had to rely on her co-stars to carry the scenes.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 4
Produced without vibration of the vocal cords; "unvoiced consonants such as `p' and `k' and `s'".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The letter "p" is a voiceless bilabial stop, made by obstructing airflow with the lips.
- The sounds of "t" and "k" are voiceless plosives in many languages, including English.
- The English consonant sound "th" as in "this" can be either voiced or voiceless.
- The sound /s/ is a voiceless alveolar fricative in English and many other languages.
- The phonemes /p/ and /t/ are examples of voiceless consonant phonemes in English.