spirant vs continuant

spirant and continuant both are nouns.

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

As adjectives, spirant and continuant are synonyms defined as:

spirant and continuant: 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 spirant include fricative, sibilant, strident.

As nouns, continuant is a hypernym of spirant; that is, continuant is a word with a broader meaning than spirant:

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

Other hypernyms of spirant include continuant consonant.

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

spirant (adjective)	continuant (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')