whisper
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Speak softly; in a low voice.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
wisperSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈwɪspɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Speak softly; in a low voice
intransitive
To speak softly or under one's breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration of the vocal cords which gives sonorous, or vocal, sound.
intransitive
To speak with suspicion or timorous caution; to converse in whispers, as in secret plotting.
intransitive
To make a low, sibilant sound.
To exercise skill in taming or training a creature.
To project using telepathy.
noun
Speaking softly without vibration of the vocal cords
A light noise, like the noise of silk clothing or leaves blowing in the wind
A low rustling sound, like that of the wind in leaves.
usually in the plural
A rumor.
figurative
A faint trace or hint (of something).
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Speak softly; in a low voice
Used this way, whisper is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use whisper
- “Please whisper your answer so no one else can hear it.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.