roar

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a deep prolonged loud noise
  2. noun a very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal)
  3. noun the sound made by a lion

Etymology

From Middle English roren, raren, from Old English rārian (“to roar; wail; lament”), from Proto-West Germanic *rairōn, from Proto-Germanic *rairōną (“to bellow; roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *rey- (“to shout; bellow; yell; bark”), perhaps of imitative origin. Cognate with Saterland Frisian roorje (“to roar”), German röhren (“to roar”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

boom, roaring, thunder

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