rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryshushRequest for silence
verb / interjection / noun

shush

SHUSH/ʃʌʃ/

A sound or command telling someone to be quiet.

She shushes the speaker beside the sleeping infant.

A woman directs a clear finger-to-lips gesture at a man who is talking beside a sleeping infant.
Etymology
shushEnglisha call for silence

The silence-requesting sound sh was expanded into the command shush. That command then became a verb for telling or compelling someone to be quiet with the same sound.

In context

Call Me Kevin24:40
oh you're saying shush don't shush me shush what do you think that sound could be
I AM THE NIGHTMARE | Little Nightmares 2

More examples

  • Shush, the reader whispered.
  • The audience shushed the noisy group.
  • A quiet shush came from the next chair.

Forms

shush · shushes · shushed · shushing

Similar words

hush
Hush is less sharply imitative.
silence
Silence can be imposed without a spoken quieting sound.