strident
STRY-duntadjMeaning loud and harsh; forceful in a grating way
Memory hook STRI-dent: a screeching STRING. Sami saws away at his violin, and the strings shriek so harshly that the dog howls along: the sound is strident.
The strident car alarm went off at three in the morning.
In context Her tone grew strident as the argument went on, her voice rising to a harsh, grating pitch that made everyone at the table wince.
Similar harsh, shrill, grating, piercing
Opposite soft, mellow, gentle
From Latin stridere, “to creak, to shriek.”