Hush Meaning
/hʌʃ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo become quiet.
verbTo make quiet.
Sentence Examples
Many politicians are believed to accept hush money.
A hush fell over the room.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher tried to ____ the loud students by raising a finger to her lips.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A sudden ____ fell over the large crowd as the famous speaker walked onto the stage.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English huschen (“to hush”) (as past participle husht (“silent; hushed”) and interjection husht (“quiet!”)). Cognate with Low German huschen, hüssen (“to hush; lull”), German huschen (“to shoo; scurry”), Danish hysse (“to hush”), and maybe Albanian hesht.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"VVilt thou then / Huſh my Cares thus, and ſhelter me vvith Love?"
— 1682, Thomas Otway, Venice Preserv’d, or, A Plot Discover’d. A Tragedy. […], London: […] Jos[eph] Hindmarsh […], →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 11:
"And hush’d my deepest grief of all."
— 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XIX”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 32:
"It is the hush of night."
— 1816, Lord Byron, “Canto III”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Third, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza LXXXVI:
"And there fell a hush upon the gods when they saw that Māna rested, and there was silence on Pegāna save for the drumming of Skarl."
— 1905, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], The Gods of Pegāna, London: [Charles] Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher tried to ____ the loud students by raising a finger to her lips.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A sudden ____ fell over the large crowd as the famous speaker walked onto the stage.