hush

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“
The only sounds that occasionally interrupted the hush were the shouts of the men tethering the ponies and the harsh scream of a buzzard swinging high against the burning blue of the desert sky Mister Bell, dear sir," began Red Bill, dictating in his rasping voice All right," said Roy, transcribing the words to the paper.

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Definitions (25)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. transitive verb To make silent or quiet.
  2. transitive verb To calm; soothe.
  3. transitive verb To keep from public knowledge; suppress mention of. Often used with up: tried to hush up the damaging details.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (9)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (4)

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Examples (50)

  • The strain of keeping everything hush-hush, hoping and praying for it all to blow over, had worn her down. —  ABC Amber LIT Converter
  • They wouldn't let me listen It's hush-hush," Doc said What would happen if I filed a story to my paper about this?" —  140 - Jiu San
  • Most of the time just rattling the weapons is sufficient Suppose they decide to rattle their guns We're going to have the element of surprise on our-- hush, here comes Creig's car Look at that, he's driving a Toyota that's two years older than mine. —  F ;SF - vol 090 issue 03 - March 1996
  • "What I really like about him is he is able to give a frank discussion about topics we try to keep hush-hush," Hasson said. —  columbiatribune.com stories
  • And since wages are often deliberately kept hush-hush, they sometimes don't even know they are being taken. —  Payson Roundup stories
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This word has been looked up 118 times.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

quiet ·  solemn ·  stillness ·  breathless ·  muffle ·  tense ·  dim ·  uneasy ·  ominous ·  mute ·  respectful ·  cold

Used in the same contextWord Family

hush:   hushed
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (5)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably back-formation from Middle English husht, silent, of imitative origin.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (4)

  1. from Middle English husshen, hussen, hoschen, only in the past participle hussht, hust, hoscht, huyst, and whist (later modern English whist, adjective) = Low German hüssen, diminutive hüsseken, inhüssken, lull (children) to sleep: cf. hüschen, hüsken, swing, rock, husse-busse, a lullaby, Middle High German husch, an interjection to denote shivering, German husch, quick! at once! (also translated ‘hush!’), later G. huschen (colloq.), slip off, vanish, = Danish hysse, v., hush, hys! interjection, hush! Ult. imitative, the forms 'sh, 'ss, hush, and, with a final check, 'sht, 'st, husht, hust, hist, whist, being sibilations requiring the least muscular effort and admitting of the faintest utterance: see hust, husht, 'sh, 'st, whist.
  2. Partly interjection, partly imperative of hush, v.
  3. from hush, v.
  4. from hush, v. Earlier husht, q. v.
 

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/həʃ/
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