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PTE Hacks: Describing Someone's Voice

Describing someone’s voice isn’t a matter of determining their exact tone or timbre. It usually involves defining their voice quality. And, that’s a tricky challenge.

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Although the chances of you encountering a PTE task that involves voice description is not high, that doesn’t mean that you can disregard the possibility completely. It’s better to be over-prepared than be under-prepared after all. So, expand your voice-related vocabulary alongside your PTE review packages. Here are some terminologies that you can use.

Word
Use it to describe people who…
Adenoidal
speak with a nasal tone; one that’s drawn from the nose
Breathy
speak as if they are out of breath, perhaps due to a health issue or a recent strenuous activity
Brittle
speak like they’re on the verge of crying
Croaky
speak in a rough voice, usually due to a dry or sore throat
Dead
speak in a voice that lacks tone and emotion
Flat
speak with a monotonous pitch, one that PTE review packages instructors would say is not ideal for the exam
Grating
have a voice quality that’s unpleasant or irritating
Gravelly
have a voice quality that’s low and rough
Guttural
have a voice that sounds harsh
High-pitched
speak with a high pitch
Honeyed
speak in a pleasant albeit suspicious way
Hoarse
have a voice quality that’s low and raspy, usually due to crying, sore throat and excessive use (e.g., screaming, nonstop talking, etc.)
Low
speak with a pitch or low volume
Modulated
speak clearly and evenly—it’s the voice quality that instructors of every PTE review center in the Philippines want their students to strive for
Nasal
sound like they’re speaking with a clogged or runny nose
Penetrating
speak in a way that’s so loud or high-pitched that it’s uncomfortable to the ears
Raspy
sound like they’re recovering from a sore throat or bad cold
Shrill
speak in a voice that’s so high-pitched that it’s unpleasant to the ears
Taut
sound like they’re very nervous, angry, or upset
Tight
speak in annoyance or with extreme unease
Tremulous
have a voice quality that’s trembling or unsteady, usually due to emotions
Throaty
have a voice quality that’s deep and raspy; one that’s drawn from the throat 
Wobbly
speak with an unstable tone, typically due to extreme emotion

Take note: these are only some of the ways to define someone’s voice. If you want to learn more, enroll in an excellent PTE review center in the Philippines!

References:

"10 Adjectives to Describe Someone's Voice—Learn English." Learnex—Free English lessons. January 08, 2017. Accessed January 11, 2019. http://www.learnex.in/10-adjectives-describe-someones-voice-learn-english/.

“Voice | Collocation.” Oxford Dictionary. Accessed January 11, 2019. http://oxforddictionary.so8848.com/search1?word=voice

“Voice.” Collocations. Accessed January 11, 2019. http://collocations.enacademic.com/20131/voice

"Why Does Everyone Have a Unique Voice?" Wonderopolis. Accessed January 11, 2019. http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-does-everyone-have-a-unique-voice.

"Words Used to Describe Someone’s Voice—Thesaurus." Macmillan Dictionary. Accessed January 11, 2019. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/thesaurus-category/american/words-used-to-describe-someone-s-voice.

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