word choice - What are the differences between "hoarse", "husky", and "raspy" when describing a person's voice? Which should describe someone with a cold?

1. What are the differences between hoarse, husky, raspy, ..., when describing a person's voice?


2. When a person is sick by cold, which word from above is used to describe his voice? Suppose if he goes to see a doctor, what is the word to describe his voice more professionally?

Answer

Hoarse typically indicates something has changed temporarily in the timbre of the voice. This could be caused by an inflammation of the vocal chords (laryngitis) which can be cause by a cold, or over-stressing the voice (yelling), acid-reflux, among other things.

While husky can apply to both men and women, it is mostly used to describe women with low-pitched voices, often, but not always, gravelly. Kathleen Turner, Stevie Nicks, or Melissa Etheridge come to mind.

Raspy voices are the opposite of smooth. Where Sinatra or Nat King Cole had silky smooth voices, Ray Charles, or Eric Burden have gravelly, gritty voices. (I can give more contemporary examples if needed)

Hoarse is the best one to use when describing the condition to a doctor. Another common phrase is "lost my voice", often an extreme example of being hoarse, where almost no sound is produced.