continuant vs spirant

continuant and spirant both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
continuant	Yes	Yes	No	No
spirant	Yes	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, continuant and spirant are synonyms defined as:

continuant and spirant: of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then')

Other synonyms of continuant include fricative, sibilant, strident.

As nouns, spirant is a hyponym of continuant; that is, spirant is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than continuant:

continuant: consonant articulated by constricting (but not closing) the vocal tract
spirant: a continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract

Other hyponyms of continuant include fricative, fricative consonant.

continuant (noun)	spirant (noun)
consonant articulated by constricting (but not closing) the vocal tract	a continuant consonant produced by breath moving against a narrowing of the vocal tract

continuant (adjective)	spirant (adjective)
of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then')	of speech sounds produced by forcing air through a constricted passage (as `f', `s', `z', or `th' in both `thin' and `then')