Loud

[loud] /laʊd/

adjective, louder, loudest.
1.
(of sound) strongly audible; having exceptional volume or intensity:
loud talking; loud thunder; loud whispers.
2.
making, emitting, or uttering strongly audible sounds:
a quartet of loud trombones.
3.
clamorous, vociferous, or blatant; noisy:
a loud party; a loud demonstration.
4.
emphatic or insistent:
to be loud in one’s praises; a loud denial.
5.
garish, conspicuous, or ostentatious, as colors, dress, or the wearer of garish dress:
loud ties; a loud dresser.
6.
obtrusively vulgar, as manners or persons.
7.
strong or offensive in smell.
adverb
8.
in a loud manner; loudly:
Don’t talk so loud.
Idioms
9.
out loud, aloud; audibly:
I thought it, but I never said it out loud. Just whisper, don’t speak out loud.
/laʊd/
adjective
1.
(of sound) relatively great in volume: a loud shout
2.
making or able to make sounds of relatively great volume: a loud voice
3.
clamorous, insistent, and emphatic: loud protests
4.
(of colours, designs, etc) offensive or obtrusive to look at
5.
characterized by noisy, vulgar, and offensive behaviour
adverb
6.
in a loud manner
7.
out loud, audibly, as distinct from silently
adj.

Old English hlud “noisy, making noise, sonorous,” from West Germanic *khluthaz “heard” (cf. Old Frisian and Old Saxon hlud, Middle Dutch luut, Dutch luid, Old High German hlut, German laut “loud”), from PIE past participle *klutos- (cf. Sanskrit srutah, Greek klytos “heard of, celebrated,” Armenian lu “known,” Welsh clod “praise”), from root *kleu- “to hear” (see listen).

Application to colors first recorded 1849. The adverb is from Old English hlude, from Proto-Germanic *khludai (cf. Dutch luid, German laut). Paired with clear since at least c.1650.

adjective

Vulgar and gaudy in taste; garish: Isn’t his dress rather loud? (1849+)

Related Terms

for crying out loud, read someone loud and clear