adjective

strident

STRY-dunt/ˈstraɪdnt/

Harshly loud and forceful.

The man's strident voice through the megaphone makes the nearby woman cover her ears.

An older man bellows forcefully through a handheld megaphone while a nearby woman recoils and covers her ears, making the sound's intrusive, unpleasant harshness visible.

Etymology

The pieces describe something screeching or grating, making harsh sound central to the word’s force. The Latin verb was probably imitative, echoing a high, shrill tone.

In context

LibriVox Audiobooks319:20

we could hear the strident tones of a particularly noted voiced sergeant major, "Come on, get them spades cracking. A set of old women had dig quicker."

Everyman at War. Sixty Personal Narratives of the War by Charles B. Purdom Part 1/3 | Audio Book

More examples

Her strident demands leave little room for compromise.
A strident whistle cuts through the chatter.
His criticism grows more strident as the debate continues.

Forms

strident · more strident · most strident

stridency noun — The quality of being harsh and forceful.

stridently adverb — In a harshly loud or forceful way.

Similar words

shrill: Emphasizes a piercingly high pitch rather than forceful expression.
raucous: Emphasizes rough, rowdy noise rather than insistent demands.
vehement: Emphasizes intense conviction or emotion without necessarily sounding harsh.