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

Amanda is enraptured with its aspirational luxury: “The house had that hush expensive houses do. Silence meant the house was plumb, solid, its organs working in happy harmony.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

Chants of "let's go Alexandra" frequently rang out, then hush descended when her American opponent sealed the match.

From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026

Those familiar with Crosstrek over the years should be equally surprised by the hush and pliant ride of today’s model.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 26, 2025

"When the hammer fell, there was a hush — then applause."

From BBC • Nov. 23, 2025

Big Ma came outside and scolded him to hush, probably because she didn’t want Elijah Lucas to step out on his porch.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Related Words

• stillness