whisper

whisper
{{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}}
noun
ADJECTIVE
barely audible, the barest, faint, gentle, hushed, low, mere, quiet, slight (esp. AmE), soft

A barely audible whisper came from the closet.

Jake got excited at the merest whisper of his lover.

fierce, harsh
audible, loud, stage

‘I knew this would happen,’ he said in a stage whisper (= one that he wanted everyone to hear).

choked (esp. AmE), hoarse, husky
excited, urgent
conspiratorial
VERB + WHISPER
hear
PREPOSITION
above a whisper

Their voices were very quiet, hardly above a whisper.

in a whisper

They spoke in whispers.

{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}
verb
ADVERB
gently, quietly, softly
loudly
hoarsely, huskily
fiercely, harshly, urgently

‘Come on,’ he whispered urgently.

brokenly, shakily
angrily, bitterly, furiously
conspiratorially
excitedly
almost, half
barely (esp. AmE)
back

‘Yes,’ I whispered back.

VERB + WHISPER
can only

He could only whisper in reply.

hear sb

She heard him whisper her name.

PREPOSITION
about

I felt that everyone was whispering about me.

against

‘Hush!’ he whispered against her hair.

through

‘No!’ he whispered through gritted teeth.

to

‘Let's go,’ she whispered to Anne.

PHRASES
whisper sth in sb's ear, whisper sth into sb's ear
Whisper is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑voice
Whisper is used with these nouns as the object: ↑apology, ↑prayer, ↑word

Collocations dictionary. 2013.

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Synonyms:

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  • Whisper — may refer to: * whispering, a form of vocalizationIn fiction* Whisper ( Fable ), fictitious character in the popular Fantasy RPG Fable * Whisper, a character created by Ian Fleming in the James Bond novel and film Live and Let Die * Whisper… …   Wikipedia

  • Whisper — Whis per, v. t. [1913 Webster] 1. To utter in a low and nonvocal tone; to say under the breath; hence, to mention privately and confidentially, or in a whisper. [1913 Webster] They might buzz and whisper it one to another. Bentley. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whisper — [hwis′pər, wis′pər] vi. [ME whisperen < OE hwisprian, akin to wispern < IE base * k̑wei , to whiz, hiss > WHINE, WHISTLE] 1. to speak very softly, esp. without the resonance produced by the vibration of the vocal cords 2. to talk quietly …   English World dictionary

  • Whisper — Whis per, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Whispered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Whispering}.] [AS. hwisprian; akin to G. wispern, wispeln, OHG. hwispal?n, Icel. hv[=i]skra, Sw. hviska, Dan. hviske; of imitative origin. Cf. {Whistle}.] [1913 Webster] 1. To speak… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whisper — [n1] rumor; information expressed in soft voice buzz*, confidence, disclosure, divulgence, gossip, hint, hum, hushed tone, innuendo, insinuation, low voice, mumble, murmur, mutter, report, secret, secret message, sigh, sighing, susurration,… …   New thesaurus

  • Whisper — Whis per, n. [1913 Webster] 1. A low, soft, sibilant voice or utterance, which can be heard only by those near at hand; voice or utterance that employs only breath sound without tone, friction against the edges of the vocal cords and arytenoid… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Whisper — conocida en castellano en la Argentina como: Susurros de terror, en España como: Hellion, el ángel caído, en México como: El hijo del diablo y en Venezuela como: Poseído, es una película de suspenso dirigida por Sterward Hendler, en la que parti …   Wikipedia Español

  • WHISPER — index imply, report (rumor), suggestion, tip (clue) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • whisper — (v.) O.E. hwisprian speak very softly (only in a Northumbrian gloss for L. murmurare), from P.Gmc. *khwis (Cf. M.Du. wispelen, O.H.G. hwispalon, Ger. wispeln, wispern, O.N. hviskra to whisper ), imitative and probably related to O.E. hwistlian to …   Etymology dictionary

  • whisper — ► VERB 1) speak very softly using one s breath rather than one s throat. 2) literary rustle or murmur softly. ► NOUN 1) a whispered word or phrase, or a whispering tone of voice. 2) literary a soft rustling or murmuring sound. 3) a rumour or… …   English terms dictionary

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