Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A low, indistinct, continuous sound: spoke in a murmur; the murmur of the waves.
- n. An indistinct, whispered, or confidential complaint; a mutter.
- n. Medicine An abnormal sound, usually emanating from the heart, that sometimes indicates a diseased condition.
- v. To make a low, continuous, indistinct sound or succession of sounds.
- v. To complain in low mumbling tones; grumble.
- v. To say in a low indistinct voice; utter indistinctly: murmured his approval.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A low sound continued or continuously repeated, as that of a stream running in a stony channel, of a number of persons talking indistinctly in low tones, and the like; a low and confused or indistinct sound; a hum.
- n. A muttered complaint or protest; the expression of dissatisfaction in a low muttering voice; hence, any expression of complaint or discontent.
- n. In medicine, any one of various sounds, normal and pathological, heard in auscultation.
- To make a low continuous noise, like the sound of rushing water or of the wind among trees, or like the hum of bees.
- To utter words indistinctly; mutter.
- To grumble; complain; utter complaints in a low, muttering voice; hence, in general, to express complaint or discontent: with at or against.
- Synonyms To repine, whimper.
- To utter indistinctly; say in a low indistinct voice; mutter.
Wiktionary
- n. countable Low or indistinct sounds or speech.
- n. medicine The sound made by any condition which produces noisy, or turbulent, flow of blood through the heart.
- n. A muttered complaint or protest; the expression of dissatisfaction in a low muttering voice; any expression of complaint or discontent
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A low, confused, and indistinct sound, like that of running water.
- n. A complaint half suppressed, or uttered in a low, muttering voice.
- v. To make a low continued noise, like the hum of bees, a stream of water, distant waves, or the wind in a forest.
- v. To utter complaints in a low, half-articulated voice; to feel or express dissatisfaction or discontent; to grumble; -- often with
at oragainst . - v. To utter or give forth in low or indistinct words or sounds.
WordNet 3.0
- v. make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath
- n. a schwa that is incidental to the pronunciation of a consonant
- n. an abnormal sound of the heart; sometimes a sign of abnormal function of the heart valves
- v. speak softly or indistinctly
- n. a complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone
- n. a low continuous indistinct sound; often accompanied by movement of the lips without the production of articulate speech
Etymologies
- From Middle English murmur, murmor, murmour, from Old French murmure (modern French murmure), from Latin murmur ("murmur, humming, muttering, roaring, growling, rushing etc."), from Proto-Indo-European *mormur-, *mur- (“to mutter”). Reduplication points to imitative, onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Sanskrit मर्मर (marmara, "rustling sound, murmur"), Ancient Greek μορμύρω (mormúrō, "to roar, boil"), Lithuanian mùrmėti ("to mutter, murmur, babble"), Old High German murmurōn, murmulōn ("to mumble, murmur"), Old Norse murra ("to grumble, mumble"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English murmure, from Old French, from Latin murmur, a humming, roaring, of imitative origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“To ask for anything more, my darker fears murmur, is to tempt destruction.”
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Negotiating Against Themselves
“There's a soft awestruck murmur from the back of the bus: "Wow!”
The Washington Post: Tea Party road trip: What the movement wants -- and why
“If your child's primary doctor thinks that the murmur is normal or innocent, he or she will note the murmur on the patient chart and listen again at later checkups for changes.”
“If your child's doctor feels comfortable that the murmur is innocent, there is no need for further cardiology evaluation.”
“A heart murmur is an extra sound besides the first and second heart sounds.”
“Sometimes the doctor will be concerned that the murmur is not innocent or normal.”
“And a sulky murmur comes from the chastened leaders on the front benches”
“The murmur is like a swoosh of too much blood coming out of the heart.”
“There was a soft murmur from the back of the room.”
“Pretty Conservative eh and yet not a murmur from the left pourqui?”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘murmur’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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Talk Talk
Words for Talking
( open list, randomness )squawk, gab, chatter, chitchat, blab, prattle, blather, discuss, hector, plead, cajole, harangue and 200 more...
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Onomatopoetic
words (seemingly) formed in imitation of a natural sound
plash, guff, woof, splash, crash, pow, crack, bang, whoosh, whizz, whallop, fizz and 116 more...
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Sounds
words that describe sound
atchoo, atishoo, babble, bam, bay, beep, blast, blather, bleat, bleep, blip, bong and 242 more...
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sound (quiet)
words for quiet sounds
( randomness, descriptive )sigh, murmur, whisper, whir, rustle, patter, hum, snap, hiss(sss), crackle, bleat, peep and 185 more...
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#faveword
Words chosen as favorites for the Twitter hashtag #faveword.
autumnal, grotto, chiaroscuro, sfumato, homunculus, zing, zest, effervescent, bewitch, avuncular, susurrus, Styrofoam and 205 more...
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double-take
the same word twice with two different meanings for each word and reduplications
sweet sweet, number number, side side, sing sing, by by, sitting sitting, light light, so so, rare rare, medium medium, card card, word word and 41 more...
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onomatopoeias (2 syllable)
2 syllable words that mean what they sound like. (dictionaried or un-dictionaried | onomatopoeic in nature)
onomatopoeias (1 syllable) | onomatopoeias (3+ syllables)
( op...wobble, sputter, spatter, flutter, giggle, hiccup, mumble, murmur, jangle, rattle, sizzle, rustle and 21 more...
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rodrigo's list
aspidistra, mosaic, murmur, sussuration, clap, assiduous, hasp, clench, rhythm, solemn, seldom, slash and 18 more...
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Choi inspired
Fun words my friend loves and others I introduced to him.
Namby-pamby, Niminy piminy, Nitpick, Nit-wit, Piggly-wiggly, Ping-pong, Pitter-patter, Raggle-taggle, Riff-raff, zoot suit, zig-zag, wishy-washy and 73 more...
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Sounds
Shhh! Listen! Did you hear that?
tintinnabulous, susurration, ululation, pandemonium, keening, tinkle, clang, caterwaul, twangle, twank, din, rumble and 34 more...
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Words I like
A list contrived for the sole purpose of storing words I like to include in my writing; words that inspire or carry power for me.
contrite, meadow, sward, ossary, calumny, moribund, necropolis, chthonic, murmur, erstwhile, chime, beryl and 63 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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Words For Novel
viridity, effigy, paragon, congested, acrid, lilting, clandestine, plethora, accolade, sardonic, naïve, reckoning and 285 more...
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Pretty Words
Pretty words that also have pretty meanings. They're special...add your own prettiness.
ethereal, ephemeral, scintillating, chortle, murmur, sigh, burblewall
Tweets
Looking for tweets for murmur.

whichbe
May 30, 2008
john Also the first full-length record by R.E.M, released in 1983. It's a beautiful record. Nov 29, 2007
kalli So excellent in its own murmuriness. Nov 20, 2007
suunflowerss A murmur ran through the court and before the bailiff could grab it, then it jumped up and bit judge Webster on the nose.
Sep 15, 2007
mandarine Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.
John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury PC, (1834–1913) Mar 30, 2007