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Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia
You’ve probably heard of words like “buzz” or “ring” or “bark”. All of these words are sounds. By definition,
onomatopoeia is a word the imitates its sound.
Words that imitate a sound can vary depending on regions, countries, and language. For the most part there are
plenty of onomatopoeia words to choose from to use in your writing, whether you are writing poetry or an essay
or even a novel.
Any word that is used to describe and mimic a sound is an example of the types of words you
would want to use in your writing.
You can use onomatopoeia in a number of different styles of writing, but it is most common for descriptive
writing, since it is often used to describe the sound that something might make. However, adding it to other
writing styles, such as expository or even persuasive can help you write a stronger piece that will be vividly
remembered by those who read the work.
T H E B I G L I S T O F O N O M AT O P O E I A W O R D S :
Achoo
Ahem
Arf
Arghh
Bang
Bark
Boo
Brrng
Bump
Buzz
Cackle
Chatter
Cheer
Clap
Clank
Click
Crackle
Crash
Crunch
Ding-Dong
Drip
Eek
Fizz
Flipflop
Growl
Haha
Hiccup
Honk
Howl
Hush
Jingle
Jangle
Knock
Lala
Meow
Moan
Moo
Murmur
Neigh
Oink
Plop
Poof
Pop
Pow
Psst
Quack
Ribbit
Ring
Roar
Rustle
Rumble
Shhh
Sizzle
Slap
Smash
Smack
Squish
Swoosh
Thud
Thump
Tick-Tock
Whisper
Whimper
Woof
Zip
Zoom
These are likely many words we may have overlooked in this list! It is hard to realize how much we use these
words in every single day conversations we might have!
Do you see the many ways these words can be used to make your writing more descriptive? Each of these words
make it very easy to imagine the sounds and visualize a specific scene.
Now that you understand the basic meaning of onomatopoeia and have a list of words to use, you have all that
you need to start using these words in your writing!
F AM O U S E X A M P L E S O F O N O M AT O P O E I A
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There are many authors who are well known for their use onomatopoeia. Many examples can be found simply by
reading a couple of Dr. Suess books, one popular book being this one: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? – such a
fun book to read!
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You : Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises (Bright and Early Board
Books)
By Dr. Seuss (Board book - Nov 26, 1996)
$4.99
Rated 4.5 out of 5 by 1012 reviewers on Amazon.com
Buy Now
The Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven is another example which uses words that mimic a sound.
Game Time
The crowd roars
over the swoosh of the ball
through the net
so loud you might miss –
the thud of it falling
to the floor.
Is it a good haha?
Or the absence of a boo-hoo-hoo?
What is the sound of happy to you?
Using words that imitate a sound can also help you show and not tell in your writing. This is very important
when you are writing a novel, as you want your readers to stay engaged and interested. This can also help your
readers connect to your character better.
When you are writing poetry, you can have a lot of fun with these words! These types of words give you endless
ideas and inspiration for different types of things to write about! In fact, we actually include many ideas for
onomatopoeia in several of our writing prompts on this website!
And – we need your help! We’ve thought of as many words that mimic a sound as we can think of. Can you think
of any words we might have missed that we should include in our onomatopoeia list? Or – comment below with
an example sentence that uses one of the words on our list.
Most importantly, I hope you have fun with writing with these word examples – and of course we’d love to hear
any additional thoughts and ideas you may have in the comments section below!
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noname
try boing, kapow, and snort
-1 Reply
6 months ago
Guest
Kenny Allen
What onomatoepoeic word describes, “it’s only Halloween”?
-1 Reply
4 months ago
Guest
anukreeti
Thanks for this its really nice but some more examples would really help
0 Reply
15 days ago
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