Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

whisper

/ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.74 in modern English

Syllables
whis-per
IPA
/ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The act of speaking in a quiet voice, especially without vibration of the vocal cords; the sound thus produced.

noun

A rumor.

noun

A faint trace or hint (of something).

noun

A low rustling sound, like that of the wind in leaves.

noun

A private message to an individual in a chat room.

noun

A projection of intention and influence caused by sending thoughts or desires outward through softly-spoken words or subtle mental or energetic means.

verb

To speak softly or under one's breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration of the vocal cords which gives sonorous, or vocal, sound.

Intransitive verb

verb

To say (something) softly or under one's breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter (something) without sonant breath, without that vibration of the vocal cords which gives sonorous, or vocal, sound.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English whisperen, from Old English hwisprian (“to mutter, murmur, whisper”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwisprōn, from Proto-Germanic *hwisprōną (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweys-, *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Dutch wisperen (“to whisper”), German wispern (“to mumble, whisper”). Related also to Danish hviske (“to whisper”), Icelandic hvískra (“to whisper”), Norwegian Bokmål hviske, kviskre (“to whisper”), Norwegian Nynorsk kviskre, kviskra (“to whisper”), Swedish viska (“to whisper”). More at English whistle.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: whisperen, hwisprian, *hwisprōn, *hwisprōną, *ḱweys-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/
  • British English: /ˈ(h)wɪspə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

whispers (plural) whispers (present, singular) whispering (participle, present) whispered (participle, past) whispered (past)

Derived Forms

kissper whisperhood whisperous whispersome whispery whisperer

Phrases

a whisper down the lane Chinese whispers in a pig's whisper pig's whisper stage whisper whisper campaign whisper interpreting whisper network

Frequently Paired Words

mul:W

Synonyms

breathe whispering susurration voicelessness rustle rustling

Rhymes With

crisper crispr lisper kissper

Questions

How do you pronounce whisper?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/.
What does whisper mean?
The act of speaking in a quiet voice, especially without vibration of the vocal cords; the sound thus produced.
Where does whisper come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce whisper

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “whisper”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈ(h)wɪspɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “whisper”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “whisper” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.