hush

American  

[huhsh] / hʌʃ /

interjection

1. (used as a command to be silent or quiet.)

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verb (used without object)

1. to become or be silent or quiet.

   They hushed as the judge walked in.

verb (used with object)

1. to make silent; silence.

2. to suppress mention of; keep concealed (often followed byup ).

   They hushed up the scandal.

3. to calm, quiet, or allay.

   to hush someone's fears.

noun

1. silence or quiet, especially after noise.

   Synonyms:

   tranquility, stillness, peace

2. Phonetics. either of the sibilant sounds (sh) and (zh).

adjective

1. Archaic. silent; quiet.

hush ¹ British  

/ hʌʃ /

verb

1. to make or become silent; quieten

2. to soothe or be soothed

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noun

1. stillness; silence

2. an act of hushing

interjection

1. a plea or demand for silence

hush ² British  

/ hʌʃ /

verb

1. to run water over the ground to erode (surface soil), revealing the underlying strata and any valuable minerals present

2. to wash (an ore) by removing particles of earth with rushing water

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noun

1. a gush of water, esp when artificially produced

Related Words

See still ¹.

Other Word Forms

• hushed adjective
• hushedly adverb
• hushful adjective
• hushfully adverb
• unhushing adjective

Etymology

Origin of hush

1350–1400; apparently back formation from husht whist ² ( Middle English huissht ), the -t being taken for past participle suffix

Example Sentences

Japan's emperor is generally treated with hushed reverence, but one man stripped away all decorum -- quite literally -- during a New Year's event on Friday, local media reported.

From Barron's

It was only after assurances that their identities would be kept anonymous that some men agreed to be interviewed, speaking in hushed tones.

From BBC

When people think about the world’s foremost grandmasters, they might imagine two geniuses in a hushed room leaning over a chess board.

From The Wall Street Journal

As director Andrew Max Levy pops in from backstage to stop filming and hush the audience and they come to a sudden stop.

From Los Angeles Times

Lately, I’ve spent just as much time contemplating the movie’s silence — those hushed stretches in which this caravan of bohemians speeds across the Moroccan desert looking like the only free people left on Earth.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• stillness