What Does “Sounded Great” Mean & How Do You Use It?

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Learn how and when to use this informal phrase
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The informal idiom “sounded great” is a common phrase used by native English speakers. Typically, someone might use “sounded great” to express approval or enthusiasm about a plan, idea, performance, or noise that you heard in the past. You might also hear someone say that an idea “sounded good” in the past, but follow it up with a reason that the idea doesn’t sound good now. Keep reading to learn more.

Things You Should Know

  • “Sounded great” is a casual phrase used to express approval or enthusiasm about an idea, plan, presentation, or performance.
  • You can also say that a plan or idea “sounded great” in the past, but something has caused you to change your mind.
  • Use “it sounded great” to refer to a word or short phrase and use “that sounded great” to refer to a whole phrase or sentence.
Section 1 of 4:

What does “sounded great” mean?

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  1. Similar to the phrase “sounds good,” “Sounded great” is a friendly, informal way to tell someone you approve of a plan or suggestion that they shared in the past. You can also use this phrase to tell someone that their performance or a sound they made was auditorily pleasing. [1]
    • “Sounded great” is short for the sentence “That sounded great.”
    • Although “sounded” is a past participle of “sound,” it can be used as an adjective, like in “The music sounded terrifying.” [2]
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Section 2 of 4:

When & How to Use “Sounded Great”

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  1. If you had a conversation with someone where you or they came up with a good idea or plan, you might describe it to someone else by saying that it “sounds great” or “sounded great.” In general, this phrase is used to express enthusiasm or approval. [3]
    • “Jimmy asked me to go to the party with him, and I said that it sounded great.”
    • “I told Martha all about our trip to Chicago, and she said that it sounds great.”
    • “James described the charity ball and it sounded great. I already bought my tickets.”
    • “Mary said she wanted to help me with the chores, and I said that sounds great.”
  2. If you’re a constant concert-goer, you’re testing out a new musical instrument, or you’re attending a presentation, you might tell someone else that whatever you heard “sounds great” or “sounded great.” [4]
    • “I heard Alexander’s piano performance, and it sounded great to me.”
    • “She gave her speech last Friday, and it sounds great. You should go to her next presentation.”
    • “I went to the Big Apple Tuesday concert last week, and all their songs sounded great.”
    • “I installed a new sound system and tested it out last weekend. All of my favorite albums sounded great.”
  3. You might say that a plan or idea “sounded great” when it was suggested in the past, but now you’ve decided it doesn’t sound great. You can say that something “sounded great” and follow it up with “but” to explain why you don’t like the plan or idea anymore. [5]
    • “Going to the store sounded great, but now I don’t want to leave the house.”
    • “Italian food sounded great earlier, but now I’m in the mood for a cheeseburger.”
    • “Using AI on the internet sounded great, but it’s difficult to regulate.”
    • “Going to the party sounded great, but then all my friends canceled. Now, I don’t want to go.”
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Section 3 of 4:

“It Sounded Great” vs. “That Sounded Great”

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  1. The pronoun “it” is both a subject and an object pronoun and generally refers to one word or short phrase. [6] Typically, you would say “it sounded great” to refer to a topic you and another person were already talking about. [7]
    • “I went to Sarah’s party last week.”
      “Yeah, Sydney talked about it yesterday. It sounded great!”
    • “I heard Isabelle’s presentation on Wednesday. It sounded great!”
    • “Josh asked if we still wanted to go ice skating .”
      “I don’t really want to go. It sounded great at the time, but now it’s too cold outside.”
  2. Like “it,” “that” is typically used to refer to a topic you were already talking about. However, “that” is typically used to talk about a whole phrase or sentence. [8] “That” also puts more distance between the speaker and the topic or certain aspects of the topic. [9]
    • “ Mark asked me to go to Bethany’s wedding with him . That sounded great, but Jeremy also asked me to go to the wedding, and Bethany and I got into a fight.”
    • “ Jack played the flute onstage at the concert . That sounded great.”
    • “Charlotte said she wanted to get snow cones with us . Charlie won’t be there , so I said that sounded great.”
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Section 4 of 4:

Alternative Phrases to “Sounded Great”

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  1. If you don’t want to use “sounded great” or “sounds great” to express approval, there are tons of alternate phrases that mean the same thing and sound natural. [10]
    • “That works for me!”
    • “Okay, I’m down!”
    • “That’s fine by me.”
    • “Sure thing!”
    • “Ok, got it.”
    • “That’s cool.”
    • “Yep, that works.”
    • “See you then!”
  2. or “you did so well!” when talking about a performance. Instead of saying “that sounded great” after someone finishes a performance or presentation, try complimenting the performance itself or the person’s skills and abilities. [11]
    • “I really enjoyed your performance!”
    • “You did so well. Congratulations!”
    • “I loved the speech you gave.”
    • “That was great!”
    • “Nice job!”
    • “You’re such a great musician!”
    • “I heard your performance, it was so good!”
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      References

      1. ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sounded
      2. ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/sounded
      3. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/sound
      4. ↑ https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/sound
      5. ↑ https://www.wordscoach.com/phrases/That-sounds-great .
      6. ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/it
      7. ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/it-this-and-that-in-paragraphs
      8. ↑ https://www.myhappyenglish.com/free-english-lesson/2014/01/22/it-vs-that-in-grammar-conversation-english-lesson/
      9. ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/it-this-and-that-in-paragraphs
      1. ↑ https://www.allearsenglish.com/aee-358-english-how-to-agree-with-someone/
      2. ↑ https://carla.umn.edu/speechacts/compliments/american.html

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