rumor

[roo-mer]

See more synonyms for rumor on Thesaurus.com

noun

a story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty as to facts: a rumor of war.
gossip; hearsay: Don't listen to rumor.
Archaic. a continuous, confused noise; clamor; din.

verb (used with object)

to circulate, report, or assert by a rumor: It is rumored that the king is dead.

Also especially British, ru·mour.

Origin of rumor

1325–75; Middle English rumour < Middle French < Latin rūmor; akin to Sanskrit rāuti, rāvati (he) cries

Related formsun·ru·mored, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. report.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rumor

Contemporary Examples

Not even Radio Bemba (Cuban slang for the rumor mill) had picked up the signal.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind
Brin-Jonathan Butler
December 19, 2014
He does, however, attempt to dispel some of the myths that have emerged from hearsay and rumor over the last century.
How WWI Produced the Holocaust
J.P. O’Malley
November 21, 2014
Thus the rumor as well as the reality of the threat is used for intimidation.
Acid Attacks on Women Spread Terror in Iran
IranWire
October 18, 2014
A Rumor of Angels: Quotations for Living, Dying and Letting Goby Gail Perry Johnson and Jill Perry Rabideau.
Book Bag: Reading Your Way Out Of Grief
Anna Whiston-Donaldson
October 16, 2014
But the rumor that House Republicans were cutting funding for Ebola had already taken off.
Progressive Bloggers Spread False Ebola Story
Tim Mak
September 11, 2014

Historical Examples

That morning a rumor had reached the village of a famine in the island of Crete.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
They were built upon high cliffs and rumor had it that no enemy could take them.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
We had paused to recuperate our animals, and there was a rumor that we were to get new clothing.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable
The rumor of the threatened attack on the spread was known to all the nine now.
Frank Roscoe's Secret
Allen Chapman
Indeed there was rumor that white travelers had seen them north of Mexico.
Introductory American History
Henry Eldridge Bourne

Word Origin and History for rumor

n.

late 14c., from Old French rumor "commotion, widespread noise or report" (Modern French rumeur), from Latin rumorem (nominative rumor) "noise, clamor, common talk, hearsay, popular opinion," related to ravus "hoarse," from PIE *reu- "to bellow." Related: Rumorous. Rumor mill is from 1887. Dutch rumoer, German Rumor are from French.

v.

1590s, "spread a rumor; spread by way of rumor," from rumor (n.). Related: Rumored; rumoring.

rumor

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Synonyms

Related Words

Examples from the Web for rumor

Contemporary Examples

Not even Radio Bemba (Cuban slang for the rumor mill) had picked up the signal.

He does, however, attempt to dispel some of the myths that have emerged from hearsay and rumor over the last century.

Thus the rumor as well as the reality of the threat is used for intimidation.

A Rumor of Angels: Quotations for Living, Dying and Letting Goby Gail Perry Johnson and Jill Perry Rabideau.

But the rumor that House Republicans were cutting funding for Ebola had already taken off.

Historical Examples

That morning a rumor had reached the village of a famine in the island of Crete.

They were built upon high cliffs and rumor had it that no enemy could take them.

We had paused to recuperate our animals, and there was a rumor that we were to get new clothing.

The rumor of the threatened attack on the spread was known to all the nine now.

Indeed there was rumor that white travelers had seen them north of Mexico.

Word Origin and History for rumor

n.

v.

Origin of rumor