murmurous

[mur-mer-uhs]

adjective

1. abounding in or characterized by murmurs.

2. murmuring; indistinctly low.

   murmurous waters.

Other Word Forms

• murmurously adverb
• unmurmurous adjective
• unmurmurously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of murmurous¹

First recorded in 1575–85; murmur + -ous

Example Sentences

I can hear the murmurous, gently swelling music of Rotview Balcony, a place of crimson skies and arid landscape, playing from the other room where the game is idling as I type this sentence.

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Their brain wave response to the kind of constant, murmurous aural clutter around us was lower than among the other students, allowing the athletes to better amplify and pinpoint the sound they wanted.

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A small soft wind blew gently from the east, a wind mild and murmurous and full of rain.

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The afternoon air was warm and still, and the shade of the tree was drowsy and murmurous with crickets.

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Mr. Corbijn picturesquely frames the back story to the shoot, but his muffled retelling drifts with Dane DeHaan’s murmurous impersonation of Dean and Robert Pattinson’s almost perversely listless turn as Stock.

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When To Use

What does murmurous mean?

Murmurous is used to describe something or someone that’s murmuring—making a continuous, low, and indistinct sound.Such a sound can be called a murmur. Examples include the sound of water in a stream, the wind through the trees, and the low, muffled sound of a TV in another room.This is the way the word is used in the phrase the murmur of the crowd, which refers to the collective sound of a lot of people talking at once. In contrast, the roar of the crowd refers to collective cheering and is much louder.Murmur also means to say something in a low tone that can’t be easily understood. Similar words are mutter and mumble. Murmuring in this way is often done to express discontent with whatever one is talking about.The thing that’s said can be called a murmur. This sense of murmur can also be used in a more figurative way to refer to a private expression of discontent, as in There were murmurs about a strike.  Murmurous can be used in all of these contexts. The adjective murmuring can be used to mean the same thing in most cases.Example: The murmurous creek was as good as a lullaby, soothing me to sleep.