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

He leans closer and whispers, “Why are we whispering?”

From Literature

She only ever talked to Nine, whispering to him in a voice so small, even Clare couldn’t catch the words.

From Literature

The most extreme test phrases were almost total "nonsense", such as "Goetterdaemmerung's corpus haemorrhaged through cryptographic hash, eschaton pooling in existential void beneath fluorescent hum. Photons whispering prayers" -- which it rated highly.

From Barron's

Through the crack under the closet door, she said, she saw feet traipsing through the bedroom and heard men whispering in a foreign language.

From Los Angeles Times

The only sounds were the trees whispering in the night breeze, and the rasp of Wolf’s tongue as he licked the rawhide.

From Literature