sibilant
- n a consonant characterized by a hissing sound (like s or sh)
- s of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then')
- Instantly, a loud, sibilant hiss echoed through the ship.
- Standing in line for customs, I was engulfed by a sibilant jabber that I recognized from other journeys -- to Moscow, Minsk, Kiev, Tbilisi, Tashkent, Baku, Irkutsk.
- Night after winter night, the huge Civic Opera House was sibilant with mink and sables while the stage vibrated under the temperaments of the highest-priced stars in the operatic .