Definition

1. Noun:

   • An audible exhalation of breath expressing emotion: A "sigh" is a long, deep, often audible breath that people release, typically to express feelings like sadness, relief, tiredness, or longing.
   • A similar soft, murmuring sound: A "sigh" can also describe a soft, whispering sound, like that made by the wind.

2. Verb:

   • To emit a sigh: To audibly exhale a long, deep breath as an expression of an emotion or physical state.
   • To yearn or long for something (literary): To feel a deep, melancholic desire for something.
   • To make a soft, murmuring sound: To produce a gentle, rustling sound, like leaves or wind.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • He gave a heavy sigh of disappointment.
  • The only sound in the room was her soft sigh.

• Verb:

  • She sighed wearily after a long day at work.
  • In the poem, the speaker sighs for the lost days of youth. (literary)
  • The pines sighed in the evening breeze.

Advanced Usage

• "a sigh of relief": A sigh expressing that one is no longer worried or anxious.

  • We all breathed a sigh of relief when the test was over.

• "to sigh and say": Used to introduce speech that is accompanied by or follows a sigh.

  • "I suppose you're right," he sighed and said.

Variants and Related Words

• Sighing (present participle/gerund/noun): The act of producing a sigh.
  • Her constant sighing indicated her boredom.

Synonyms

• Noun: Exhalation, breath, murmur, whisper.
• Verb: Moan, groan, lament (for expressing sorrow); pine, yearn, long (for expressing desire); whisper, rustle, sough (for making a soft sound).

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• Sigh for (verb + preposition): To yearn for or mourn the absence of something (literary/dated).

  • He sighed for the comforts of home.

• Sigh over (verb + preposition): To express regret, sadness, or longing about something while sighing.

  • She sighed over the old photographs.

Related Idioms

• Heave a sigh: To sigh deeply, often with effort or great emotion.
  • He heaved a sigh and accepted the difficult task.

Noun

1. a sound like a person sighing
   • she heard the sigh of the wind in the trees
2. an utterance made by exhaling audibly

Verb

1. utter with a sigh
2. heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
   • She sighed sadly