A continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract.

synonyms: fricative, fricative consonant.

Dutch: fricatief, spirant
Polish: spółgłoska frykatywna, spirant, spółgłoska szczelinowa, spółgłoska trąca

Of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then').

synonyms: continuant, fricative, sibilant, strident.