whisperverb
uk/ˈwɪs.pər/us/ˈwɪs.pɚ/whisper verb (SPEAK)
B2 [ I or T ] to speak very quietly, using the breath but not the voice, so that only the person close to you can hear you:
She leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
What are you two girls whispering about?
[ + speech ] "Where are the toilets?" she whispered.
It's rude to whisper!
More examples
- She leaned forward to whisper something in my ear.
- She leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
- The person on my left turned to me and whispered "Not another speech!".
- They're the couple in the corner, whispering sweet nothings to each other.
- She heard them whispering conspiratorially in the bedroom.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Ways of talking
- -mouthed
- babel
- blab
- blather
- croon
- declamatory
- drone
- drone on
- expressive
- hold the floor idiom
- lyrical
- meanderings
- rabbit
- rabbit on
- sink to a whisper idiom
- tattle
- telegrammatic
- throw
- waffle
- yap
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whisper verb (SUGGEST)
[ + that ] to suggest privately that something might be true:
People are whispering that she's going to retire next year.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Revealing secrets & becoming known
- (the) word is/gets out idiom
- bare
- be the talk of the town idiom
- break cover idiom
- cat
- dob sb in
- fink
- get around (somewhere)
- give sth away
- King's evidence
- leak
- let the cat out of the bag idiom
- open your heart to someone idiom
- sneak
- spill the beans idiom
- take the wraps off sth idiom
- tell on sb
- tongues wagging idiom
- turn
- unmask
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whispernoun
uk/ˈwɪs.pər/us/ˈwɪs.pɚ/whisper noun (SPEECH)
[ C ] a way of speaking very quietly, using the breath but not the voice, so that only the person close to you can hear you:
I heard whispers outside my room.
She said it in a whisper so I presumed it wasn't common knowledge. "You see," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, "he hasn't been well recently."
[ S ] literary a soft, low noise:
The silence was broken only by the whisper of the leaves in the gentle breeze.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Ways of talking
- -mouthed
- babel
- blab
- blather
- croon
- declamatory
- drone
- drone on
- expressive
- hold the floor idiom
- lyrical
- meanderings
- rabbit
- rabbit on
- sink to a whisper idiom
- tattle
- telegrammatic
- throw
- waffle
- yap
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Sounds made by objects, movement or impact
whisper noun (SUGGESTION)
[ C ] a suggestion or piece of information that you hear privately from someone:
I've heard a whisper that they're heading for divorce.