whispery

[hwis-puh-ree, wis-]

adjective

1. like a whisper.

   a soft, whispery voice.

2. abounding in whispers or other quiet, mysterious sounds.

   dark, whispery streets.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whispery¹

First recorded in 1825–35; whisper + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, Lorde broke out at age 16 with “Royals,” her stark and whispery debut single — “a speech barely scaffolded with melody,” she calls it now — about the illusory satisfactions of a consumer culture run amok.

From Los Angeles Times

He comes across like he’s murdering you with a hammer, while she will drive you into an early grave with whispery chit-chat about nothing.

From Salon

Yet “Chromatica’s” disco excursions were largely lost to the pandemic, and anyway “Mayhem” is more fortunately timed, with Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan having brought color and pageantry back to the Top 40 after a long stretch of whispery gloom and Charli XCX having revived the so-called indie-sleaze aesthetic that once ruled Gaga’s beloved Lower East Side.

From Los Angeles Times

Sales were disappointing and audiences were slow to catch on because her in-your-face queer anthems were out of step with the trend for whispery, confessional pop.

From BBC

But the album also explores new emotional territory — most significantly as pertains to her feelings on queer desire — and showcases new elements of Eilish’s singing, which tended earlier toward the light and whispery and has grown throatier and more muscular with age.

From Los Angeles Times