noun
- Consonant sounds produced by obstructing or blocking the flow of air through the mouth, such as stops, fricatives, and affricates.
Usage: linguistics; plural form of obstruent
Examples
- In English, the sounds /p/, /t/, and /k/ are obstruents that completely block airflow.
- Fricative obstruents like /f/ and /s/ allow air to pass through with friction.
- Linguists classify obstruents separately from sonorants based on how they are articulated.
- The child struggled to pronounce certain obstruents in her speech therapy sessions.
- Obstruents are found in all human languages, though their specific inventory varies.