What does stridulated mean?
Stridulated describes a sound produced by stridulation, the friction-based process in which an animal rubs specialized body parts together to generate noise. Insects are especially well known for this behavior: grasshoppers, crickets, and some beetles produce calls by rubbing their legs, wings, or other structures against one another. The resulting sound can serve communication, courtship, defense, or territorial functions. In a biological description, “stridulated” is more exact than “rasping” because it identifies the specific mechanism involved rather than merely describing the sound’s rough quality. The word is relatively uncommon and generally appears in technical writing, field guides, zoology, and entomology. It is also the past tense and past participle of “stridulate,” so readers may encounter it either as an adjective or in a verbal construction.
adjectiveProduced by stridulation, especially the rubbing together of body parts to create a sound. In biology, it describes structures or sounds involved in this form of communication.
- Produced by or involving stridulation, especially the frictional sound made by rubbing body parts together.
"The insect produced a faint, stridulated warning sound by rubbing its legs together."
"The stridulated song of the male insect was difficult to hear from a distance."
"Researchers recorded the stridulated vibrations produced by the animal during courtship."
Some insects, ants, and snakes make sound without vocal cords—by rubbing body parts together in a process called stridulation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of stridulated
The word belongs to a family derived from Latin stridere, meaning “to make a harsh or creaking sound.” The English verb “stridulate” was formed from this root and came to mean “to make a sound by rubbing body parts together.” “Stridulated” is the regular past-tense and past-participle form of that verb and also functions as an adjective describing the resulting sound.
Related word forms
How stridulated is actually used
This is a specialized term used mainly in biology, zoology, and entomology. It is more precise than simply saying that a sound is rasping or scraping.
Easily confused with stridulated
“Stridulated” describes the sound or structure produced by rubbing body parts, whereas “stridulated” is the past-tense or past-participle form of the verb “stridulate.”