Sibilance

Definition in plain English

Sibilance is the repeated use of soft s, sh, z, or c sounds close together. Children usually understand it fastest when they see it in ordinary speech first and then in stronger descriptive writing.

Everyday examples

Start with familiar phrases. Once the idea feels natural in daily language, it is much easier to use it deliberately in a story.

• soft shoes swishing across the floor
• a secret whispered in the dark
• the sea sighing against the shore

How writers use it

The jump from knowing the definition to using it well comes from noticing effect. What does this device make the reader picture, feel, or expect?

• Mist slid silently across the sleeping street.
• The snake-like hiss of the tyres made her shoulders stiffen.
• Sea spray settled in a silver sheet over the rocks.

Sibilance can build secrecy, calm, or menace. If you force too many similar sounds together, the sentence stops sounding natural.

A quick practice task

Write one suspenseful sentence and one peaceful sentence using sibilance in different ways.