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hush

- 7 dictionary results

hush

  [huhsh]
Use hush in a Sentence
–interjection
1. (used as a command to be silent or quiet.)
–verb (used without object)
2. to become or be silent or quiet: They hushed as the judge walked in.
–verb (used with object)
3. to make silent; silence.
4. to suppress mention of; keep concealed (often fol. by up): They hushed up the scandal.
5. to calm, quiet, or allay: to hush someone's fears.
–noun
6. silence or quiet, esp. after noise.
7. Phonetics. either of the sibilant sounds (sh) and (zh).
–adjective
8. Archaic. silent; quiet.
Origin:
1350–1400; appar. back formation from husht whist 2 (ME huissht), the -t being taken for ptp. suffix

Related forms:
hush⋅ed⋅ly  [huhsh-id-lee, huhsht-lee] , adverb
hushful, adjective
hush⋅ful⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
6. peace, stillness, tranquillity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hush   (hŭsh)   
v.   hushed, hush·ing, hush·es

v.   tr.
  1. To make silent or quiet.
  2. To calm; soothe.
  3. To keep from public knowledge; suppress mention of. Often used with up: tried to hush up the damaging details.
v.   intr.
To be or become silent or still.
n.  A silence or stillness, especially after noise.
adj.   Archaic
Silent; quiet.

[Probably back-formation from Middle English husht, silent, of imitative origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Hush

Hush\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hushed; p. pr. & vb. n. Hushing.] [OE. huschen, hussen, prob. of imitative origin; cf. LG. hussen to lull to sleep, G. husch quick, make haste, be silent.]

1. To still; to silence; to calm; to make quiet; to repress the noise or clamor of.

My tongue shall hush again this storm of war. --Shak.

2. To appease; to allay; to calm; to soothe.

With thou, then, Hush my cares? --Otway.

And hush'd my deepest grief of all. --Tennyson.

To hush up, to procure silence concerning; to suppress; to keep secret. "This matter is hushed up." --Pope.

Hush

Hush\, v. i. To become or to keep still or quiet; to become silent; -- esp. used in the imperative, as an exclamation; be still; be silent or quiet; make no noise.

Hush, idle words, and thoughts of ill. --Keble.

But all these strangers' presence every one did hush. --Spenser.

Hush

Hush\, n. Stillness; silence; quiet. [R.] "It is the hush of night." --Byron.

Hush money, money paid to secure silence, or to prevent the disclosure of facts. --Swift.

Hush

Hush\, a. Silent; quiet. "Hush as death." --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : hush
Spanish: ¡silencio!,
German: still!,
Japanese: しっ
More Translations »

hush 
1546, variant of M.E. huisht (c.1380), probably of imitative origin, with terminal -t lost probably by being mistaken for a pt. suffix. Hush-hush (adj.) is 1916 reduplication. Hush-money is attested from 1709. Hush-puppy "deep-fried ball of cornmeal batter" first attested 1918; as a type of lightweight soft shoe, it is a proprietary name, registered 1961.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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