hush
/hʌʃ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To make or become quiet or silent: The primary meaning is to cause someone or something to stop making noise, or to become quiet oneself.
- To soothe or calm: Often used in the context of calming a person, especially a child.
Noun:
- A silence or quiet, especially a peaceful one: Refers to a state of calm and absence of noise, often with a poetic or tranquil quality.
Interjection:
- A command or request for silence: Used to tell someone to be quiet, similar to "shh" or "be quiet."
Usage Examples
- Verb (transitive):
- She tried to hush the crying baby. (She tried to make the crying baby quiet.)
- The teacher hushed the noisy classroom. (The teacher caused the noisy classroom to become silent.)
- Verb (intransitive):
- The crowd hushed as the ceremony began. (The crowd became quiet as the ceremony began.)
- Noun:
- A sudden hush fell over the audience. (A sudden silence came over the audience.)
- They enjoyed the hush of the early morning. (They enjoyed the quiet of the early morning.)
- Interjection:
- Hush! I'm trying to listen. (Be quiet! I'm trying to listen.)
Advanced Usage
- "to hush something up": To prevent something from becoming publicly known; to conceal a scandal or secret.
- The company tried to hush up the accident. (The company tried to conceal the accident from the public.)
- "hush-hush" (adjective): Kept secret or confidential.
- Their meeting was very hush-hush. (Their meeting was very secret.)
Variants and Related Words
- Hushed (adjective): Quiet, subdued.
- They spoke in hushed tones. (They spoke in quiet, soft voices.)
- Hush money (noun): Money paid to someone to ensure they keep a secret.
- He was paid hush money to not talk to the press.
Synonyms
- Verb: Quiet, silence, shush, soothe, calm, still.
- Noun: Silence, quiet, stillness, peace, tranquility.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Hush up: To suppress discussion or information about something.
- The government attempted to hush up the report. (The government attempted to suppress the report.)
Related Idioms
- A hush fell over (a place): A phrase describing a sudden onset of silence in a group or location.
- A hush fell over the stadium as the player prepared for the penalty kick. (The stadium suddenly became silent.)
- Hush your mouth!: An informal, sometimes humorous, command telling someone to stop talking.
- Oh, hush your mouth! You don't know what you're talking about. (Oh, be quiet! You don't know what you're talking about.)
Noun
- (poetic) tranquil silence
- the still of the night
Verb
- run water over the ground to erode (soil), revealing the underlying strata and valuable minerals
- wash by removing particles
- Wash ores
- become quiet or quieter
- The audience fell silent when the speaker entered
- cause to be quiet or not talk
- Please silence the children in the church!
- become quiet or still; fall silent
- hush my baby!