Library / English Dictionary

HUSH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(poetic) tranquil silence

Example:

the still of the night

Synonyms:

hush; still; stillness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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

quiet; silence (the absence of sound)

Domain category:

poesy; poetry; verse (literature in metrical form)

Derivation:

hush (become quiet or still; fall silent)

hush (cause to be quiet or not talk)

hush (become quiet or quieter)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Run water over the ground to erode (soil), revealing the underlying strata and valuable minerals

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

irrigate; water (supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams)

Domain category:

excavation; mining (the act of extracting ores or coal etc from the earth)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Wash by removing particles

Example:

Wash ores

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

lave; wash (cleanse (one's body) with soap and water)

Domain category:

excavation; mining (the act of extracting ores or coal etc from the earth)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become quiet or still; fall silent

Example:

hush my baby!

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

hush ((poetic) tranquil silence)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Cause to be quiet or not talk

Example:

Please silence the children in the church!

Synonyms:

hush; hush up; quieten; shut up; silence; still

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

conquer; stamp down; subdue; suppress (bring under control by force or authority)

Cause:

hush (become quiet or still; fall silent)

Verb group:

hush; pipe down; quiesce; quiet; quiet down; quieten (become quiet or quieter)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hush"):

shush (silence (someone) by uttering 'shush!')

calm down; lull (become quiet or less intensive)

shout down (silence or overwhelm by shouting)

gag; muzzle (prevent from speaking out)

Sentence frames:

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

Also:

hush up (cover up a misdemeanor, fault, or error)

Derivation:

hush ((poetic) tranquil silence)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Become quiet or quieter

Example:

The audience fell silent when the speaker entered

Synonyms:

hush; pipe down; quiesce; quiet; quiet down; quieten

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

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

change intensity (increase or decrease in intensity)

Verb group:

hush; hush up; quieten; shut up; silence; still (cause to be quiet or not talk)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

hush ((poetic) tranquil silence)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Hush! You remember those lines—I forget the poem at this moment: Now I say, my dear, in our case, for lady, read—mum! a word to the wise.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

When we got back to Scotland it was easily hushed up, and nobody asked any questions.

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

Far from hushing the thing up, I have brought a gentleman down from London to inquire more deeply into it.

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

Dennin answered, "'Tis very simple. I was thinkin'—" But she hushed him abruptly, asked him to wait, and hurried to Hans's bedside.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I am sure it will be all hushed up, and nothing proved but Rushworth's folly.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

He felt a vacancy in him, a need for the hush and quietude of the stream and the cave in the cliff.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

As he spoke several of the beasts caught sight of him, and at once the great assemblage hushed as if by magic.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

The comfort, the freedom, the gaiety of the room was over, hushed into cold composure, determined silence, or insipid talk, to meet the heartless elegance of her father and sister.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Hush! they will hear you.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

But the thing was hushed up, and never known at court, for the girl was afraid of the queen’s anger; and truly, as to myself, I thought it would not be for my reputation, that such a story should go about.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)