sibilance
/ˈsɪbɪləns/
noun
- A hissing or whistling sound, especially in speech or music, often produced by the letters 's', 'z', 'sh', and 'zh'.
- When recording the podcast, the microphone picked up too much sibilance from the speaker's 's' sounds.
- The snake's sibilance made the audience shiver during the nature documentary.
- The poet used sibilance to create a calm, whispering effect in the poem.