Library / English Dictionary

HISS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt

Synonyms:

bird; boo; Bronx cheer; hiss; hoot; raspberry; razz; razzing; snort

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("hiss" is a kind of...):

call; cry; outcry; shout; vociferation; yell (a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition)

Derivation:

hiss (show displeasure, as after a performance or speech)

hiss (make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval)

hiss (express or utter with a hiss)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval)

Example:

the performers could not be heard over the hissing of the audience

Synonyms:

fizzle; hiss; hissing; hushing; sibilation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("hiss" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Derivation:

hiss (show displeasure, as after a performance or speech)

hiss (make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval)

hiss (express or utter with a hiss)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Show displeasure, as after a performance or speech

Synonyms:

boo; hiss

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "hiss" is one way to...):

condemn (declare or judge unfit for use or habitation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

hissing (a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval))

hisser (someone who communicates disapproval by hissing)

hiss (a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval))

hiss (a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval

Synonyms:

hiss; sibilate; siss; sizz

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "hiss" is one way to...):

emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

hiss (a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt)

hiss (a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval))

hisser (someone who communicates disapproval by hissing)

hissing (a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Express or utter with a hiss

Synonyms:

hiss; sibilate; siss; sizz

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "hiss" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They hiss that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

hiss (a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt)

hiss; hissing (a fricative sound (especially as an expression of disapproval))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Move with a whooshing sound

Synonyms:

hiss; whoosh

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "hiss" is one way to...):

go; locomote; move; travel (change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

At any moment they were liable to be overwhelmed by the hissing combers.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The long sweep of green water roaring forever down, and the thick flickering curtain of spray hissing forever upward, turn a man giddy with their constant whirl and clamour.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The hiss of the quenched element, the breakage of a pitcher which I flung from my hand when I had emptied it, and, above all, the splash of the shower-bath I had liberally bestowed, roused Mr. Rochester at last.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It may have been that the bulk of the smith caught his eye, and that he acted in pure wantonness, or it may possibly have been an accident, but, as he swung past, the twenty-foot thong of the driver’s whip hissed round, and we heard the sharp snap of it across Harrison’s leather apron.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“What was that?” he asked, as a hissing, sharp-drawn voice seemed to whisper in his ear.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Arthur did not notice it, but I could hear the deep hiss of indrawn breath which is one of Van Helsing's ways of betraying emotion.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The air was thick with flying wreckage, detached ropes and stays were hissing and coiling like snakes, and down through it all crashed the gaff of the foresail.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

She was rather a favorite with 'old Davis', as, of course, he was called, and it's my private belief that he would have broken his word if the indignation of one irrepressible young lady had not found vent in a hiss.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Now it suddenly made its presence apparent by a few heavy drops of rain, thickening rapidly into a sharp shower, which filled the air with its hiss, and rattled noisily upon the high, hard hats of the Corinthians.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Under the bow the water was hissing as from a steam jet, the air was filled with driven spray, there was a rush and rumble and long-echoing roar, and the canoe floated on the placid water of the lagoon.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)