whispering

American  

[hwis-per-ing, wis-] / ˈʰwɪs pər ɪŋ, ˈwɪs- /

noun

1. whispered talk or conversation.

2. rumor, hearsay, or gossip.

3. a whispered sound.

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adjective

1. that whispers; making a sound like a whisper.

2. like a whisper.

3. given to whispering; gossipy.

4. conversing in whispers.

Other Word Forms

• half-whisperingly adverb
• unwhispering adjective
• whisperingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of whispering

before 1000; Middle English (noun), Old English hwisprunge. See whisper, -ing ², -ing ¹

Example Sentences

“I didn’t realize you and Adek were friends,” I said to her one night after I saw them whispering in a corner together.

From Literature

These plants are whispering to Tūtū, and I’m getting boys yelling their thoughts at me.

From Literature

Groups of men congregate in conference, smoking and whispering on the lawns.

From Literature

Whatever it was, they weren’t telling, but every day there they were at the bus stop, whispering and shaking their heads.

From Literature

Her fossilized sea urchin, from a beach on the Red Sea, “responds by radiating its own inner joy at being found and loved too,” whispering: “We are two cyclical beings, each with their own story.”

From The Wall Street Journal