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.

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.