Join free

loud

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

loud¹

  • /ˈlaʊ̯d/ US, UK
  • /ˈlæʊ̯d/
  • /ˈlaːd/
  • /ˈlʌʉ̯d/ Scotland
  • /ˈlɛ̈ʊ̯d/ Ireland
  • /ˈlɐʊ̯d/ Cork, Ireland, Munster
  • /ˈlɐʏ̯d/ Ireland, Northern Ireland

Rhymes with -aʊd

Where it comes from

From Middle English loude, loud, lud, from Old English hlūd (“loud, noisy, sounding, sonorous”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlūd, from Proto-Germanic *hlūdaz, *hlūþaz (“heard”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlewtos (“heard, famous”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). More at listen.

Cognates

Akin to Scots loud, lowd (“loud”), Swedish ljud, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk lyd, Faroese ljóð, Icelandic hljóð, West Frisian lûd (“loud”), Dutch luid (“loud”), Low German lud (“loud”), German laut (“loud”), Irish clú (“repute”), Welsh clywed (“heard”), clod (“praise”), Latin laudare (“praise”), Tocharian A/B klots/klautso 'ear', klyostär 'heard', Ancient Greek κλυτός (klutós, “famous”), Albanian quaj (“to name, call”), shquar (“famous, notorious”), Old Armenian լու (lu, “the act of hearing”), Old Church Slavonic слава (slava, “glory”), слово (slovo, “word”), Sanskrit श्रव (śráva, “glory”).

adjective louder · loudest · lowd

  1. of a sound Of great intensity. Turn that music down; it's too loud.
  2. usually, of a person Noisy. a loud party that went on all night
  3. usually, of a person Not subtle or reserved, brash. Some of the loudest blubberers are developers who, having made enormous profits as a result of local, state, and federal subsidies, complain that government doesn't do enough for them.
  4. usually, of clothing Having unpleasantly and tastelessly contrasting colours or patterns; gaudy. a loud style of dress; loud colors
  5. slang, of marijuana High-quality; premium; (by extension) having a strong or pungent odour indicating good quality.
  6. of an odor Of great intensity. Ohls showed the motorcycle officer his badge and we went out on the pier, into a loud fish smell which one night's hard rain hadn't even dented.

Similar: garish, gaudy, ample, blaring, forceful, forte, fortissimo, noisy, powerful, sonorous, stentorian, strident, strong, voluminous · Opposite: quiet, silent, soft, calm, low, mild, pianissimo, subtle, weak

noun louds · lowd

  1. colloquial, countable, uncountable A loud sound or part of a sound. The expander doesn't really make the louds louder and the softs softer in one step […]
  2. slang, uncountable High-quality marijuana.

loud²

  • /ˈlaʊ̯d/ US, UK
  • /ˈlæʊ̯d/
  • /ˈlaːd/
  • /ˈlʌʉ̯d/ Scotland
  • /ˈlɛ̈ʊ̯d/ Ireland
  • /ˈlɐʊ̯d/ Cork, Ireland, Munster
  • /ˈlɐʏ̯d/ Ireland, Northern Ireland

Rhymes with -aʊd

Where it comes from

From Middle English loude, from Old English hlūde (“loudly”), from Proto-Germanic *hlūda, *hlūdô (“loudly”), related to Etymology 1.

adverb louder · loudest · lowd

  1. Loudly. Who knocks so loud at door?

Loud³

Where it comes from

As an English surname,

* from the adjective loud,

* from the place name Lyde,

* and a spelling variant of Louth in Lincolnshire, itself related to the adjective,

* and finally variants of the Irish surnames McLeod, McLouth.

proper noun Louds

  1. countable A surname.
  2. abbreviation, clipping, countable, uncountable Clipping of McLoud: A surname from Scottish Gaelic.
  3. alternative, countable, uncountable Alternative form of McLeod, McLouth.
  4. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of River Loud
  5. abbreviation, countable, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of Loud Township

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: aloud, earsplitting, tawdry, garish, gaudy, roaring, gimcrack, tacky, flashy, meretricious, flash, earthshaking, trashy, forte, shattering, blasting

adjective

Similar: garish, gaudy, ample, blaring, forceful, forte, fortissimo, noisy, powerful, sonorous, stentorian, strident, strong, voluminous · Opposite: quiet, silent, soft, calm, low, mild, pianissimo, subtle, weak

Translations

Every language

adj of a sound

Españolfuerte, sonoro, duro, alto, fuerte sónicamente, alto acústicamente
한국어시끄럽다 sikkeureopda
日本語音が大きい oto ga ōkii, 大声 ōgoe, 騒々しい sōzōshii, 喧しい yakamashii, 煩い urusai
中文大聲的 /大声的 dàshēng de
हिन्दीज़ोरदार zordar
Kiswahili-kubwa
Portuguêsalto
Françaisfort
Deutschlaut
Italianoforte
Ελληνικάηχηρός ichirós, δυνατός dynatós
Românătare
Русскийгро́мкий grómkij
Tiếng Việtto
العربيةعَالٍ ʕālin, اَلْعَالِي al-ʕālī
עבריתבְּקוֹל רָם

adj noisy

Españolruidoso, estrepitoso, escandaloso, bullicioso, estentóreo
한국어시끄럽다 sikkeureopda
日本語煩い urusai, 姦しい kashimashii, 囂しい kamabisushii, 騒がしい sawagashii, 騒々しい sōzōshii, 騒然 sōzen
中文大聲的 /大声的 dàshēng de
Portuguêsbarulhento
Françaisbruyant
Deutschlaut
Italianorumoroso
Ελληνικάθορυβώδης thoryvódis, βροντερός vronterós, βροντώδης vrontódis
Românăgălăgios, zgomotos
Русскийгро́мкий grómkij, шу́мный šúmnyj
Tiếng Việtầm ĩ
العربيةعَالٍ ʕālin, اَلْعَالِي al-ʕālī, صَخِب ṣaḵib

adj of a colour, clothing, etc.

Españolchillón, vistoso, llamativo, colorinche
日本語派手な hade na, けばけばしい kebakebashii, どぎつい dogitsui, 毒々しい dokudokushii
Portuguêsberrante
Françaisvoyant
Deutschgrell
Ελληνικάφανταχτερός fantachterós, χτυπητός chtypitós, κραυγαλέος kravgaléos
Русскийкрича́щий kričáščij

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"loud." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/loud. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

loud. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/loud

Chicago

"loud." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/loud.

BibTeX
@misc{loud_2026,
  title = {loud},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/loud},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}