lilt Hear it!

lilt Definition

lilt (lilt)

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to sing, speak, play, or move with a light, graceful rhythm or swing

Etymology: ME lilten, lulten, prob. of echoic orig.

noun

  1. a merry song or tune with a light, swingy, and graceful rhythm
  2. a light and graceful rhythm or movement

lilt Related Forms
lilt·ing adjective lilt·ingly adverb
lilt Usage Examples

Object

  • melody: Clusters of cracked connections disperse around a lilting stuck groove melody which slips out of focus.
  • rhythm: The first two stanzas are sung, by the male and female voices respectively, in a tight canonic interplay of lilting Scottish rhythms.
  • vocal: Getting us in more of a spin than the Falkirk wheel, her gentle songs and lilting, high-pitched vocals are always a treat.
  • tune: Singers and Musicians are playing lilting happy tunes to make you smile as you imagine the long hot summer ahead.
  • tone: Cant wait to hear the lilting tones of your Black Country accent on the National News.
  • guitar: We have beautiful lilting guitar in the quieter sections, rock guitar in the ' chorus ' parts.

Converse of object

  • have: His voice has a pleasing lilt merging tightly with a resonant guitar.
  • hear: However, when we visited in June we heard only the soft Irish lilt from guests.

Adjective modifier

  • Irish: She had a lovely Irish lilt to her voice.
  • Welsh: As Jim said with a slight Welsh lilt " Why does he do it?
  • Scottish: On hearing a Scottish lilt, I sidle up to the guy.
  • musical: I was very taken with the musical lilt, which can be found in many of his poems.
  • slight: As Jim said with a slight Welsh lilt " Why does he do it?
  • lovely: She had a lovely Irish lilt to her voice.

Modifying Another Word

  • gently: Susan Ashworth A gently lilting carol which could be used during Epiphany.

Noun used with modifier

  • reggae: Listen to the reggae lilt of the title-track and you'll be convinced that the rhythms of Jamaica also originated in Africa.

Browse dictionary entries near lilt

  1. Lilongwe
  2. Lilliputian
  3. Lilliput
  4. Lillian
  5. Lille
  6. Liliuokalani
  7. Lilith
  8. lilied
  9. lilangeni
  10. lilac
  1. lily
  2. lily-livered
  3. lily of the valley
  4. lily pad
  5. lily-white
  6. LIM
  7. Lima
  8. lima bean
  9. limacine
  10. limb