Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

whisper

UK /ˈ(h)wɪspə/ · US /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/ noun, verb

Forms whispers whispering whispered

  1. noun The act of speaking in a quiet voice, especially without vibration of the vocal cords; the sound thus produced. “I spoke in a near whisper.”
  2. noun (usually in the plural) A rumor. “There are whispers of rebellion all around.”
  3. noun (figurative) A faint trace or hint (of something). “The soup had just a whisper of basil.”
  4. noun A low rustling sound, like that of the wind in leaves.
  5. noun (Internet) A private message to an individual in a chat room.
  6. noun (occult) A projection of intention and influence caused by sending thoughts or desires outward through softly-spoken words or subtle mental or energetic means.
  7. verb (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.
  8. verb (transitive) To say (something) softly or under one's breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter (something) without sonant breath, without that vibration of the vocal cords which gives sonorous, or vocal, sound.
  9. verb (transitive) To mention privately and confidentially, or in a whisper.
  10. verb (intransitive) To make a low, sibilant sound.
  11. verb (intransitive) To speak with suspicion or timorous caution; to converse in whispers, as in secret plotting.
  12. verb (transitive, obsolete) To address in a whisper, or low voice.
  13. verb (transitive, obsolete) To prompt secretly or cautiously; to inform privately.
  14. verb (Internet) To send a private message to an individual in a chat room.

Synonyms

breathe whispering susurration voicelessness rustle rustling

Antonyms

shout

Etymology

From Middle English whisperen, from Old English hwisprian (“to mutter, murmur, whisper”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwisprōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwisprōną (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweys-, *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”).
Cognate with Dutch wisperen (“to whisper”), German wispern (“to mumble, whisper”). Related also to Danish hviske (“to whisper”), Icelandic hvískra (“to whisper”), Norwegian Bokmål hviske, kviskre (“to whisper”), Norwegian Nynorsk kviskre, kviskra (“to whisper”), Swedish viska (“to whisper”). More at English whistle.

Webster’s 1913

  1. verb To speak softly, or under the breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration in the larynx which gives sonorous, or vocal, sound. See Whisper, n.
  2. verb To make a low, sibilant sound or noise.
  3. verb To utter in a low and nonvocal tone; to say under the breath; hence, to mention privately and confidentially, or in a whisper.
  4. verb To address in a whisper, or low voice. [Archaic]

Etymology [AS. hwisprian; akin to G. wispern, wispeln, OHG. hwispal, Icel. hviskra, Sw. hviska, Dan. hviske; of imitative origin. Cf. Whistle.]

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “whisper”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details

Sanskrit

Sanskrit dictionary entries whose meaning includes “whisper” (best matches first).

All 9 Sanskrit matches →