1. Giving
sound when struck; resonant; as,
sonorous metals.
2. Loud-sounding; giving a clear or loud sound; as, a
sonorous voice.
3. Yielding sound; characterised by sound; vocal; sonant; as, the vowels are sonorous.
4. Impressive in sound; high-sounding. "The Italian opera, amidst all the meanness and familiarty of the thoughts, has something
fine and
sonorous in the expression." (Addison) "There is
nothing of the
artificial Johnsonian
balance in
his style. It is as often marked by a pregnant brevity as by a
sonorous amplitude." (E. Everett)
5.
Sonant; vibrant; hence, of sounds produced in a cavity, deep-toned; as, sonorous rhonchi. Sonorous figures, a tumour which emits a clear, resonant sound on percussion.
Origin: L. Sonorus, fr. Sonor, -oris, a sound, akin to sonus a sound.