hush

verb \ ˈhəsh \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Examples: hush in a Sentence

Definition of hush

hushed; hushing; hushes

transitive verb

1 : calm, quiet

hushed the children as they entered the library

2 : to put at rest : mollify

3 : to keep from public knowledge : suppress

hush the story up

intransitive verb

: to become quiet

See hush defined for English-language learners

See hush defined for kids

Examples of hush in a Sentence

The woman in the seat behind me was trying to hush her baby.
The judge hushed the spectators.
The spectators hushed as the judge entered the courtroom.

Recent Examples of hush from the Web

The team did not allow a goal during the group state, then hushed Ronaldo in a 2-1 victory over Portugal to book a date with France.

— owen pence, BostonGlobe.com, "The World Cup is getting hot. If you haven’t been watching, this will catch you up," 6 July 2018
The preparations had been hushed: Few people on the base, even among those assembling and loading the bombs, knew that this was something other than a training run.

— william langewiesche, The Atlantic, "An Extraordinarily Expensive Way to Fight ISIS," 21 June 2018
The crowd hushed when Virgil Cameron talked about his father, James Cameron, who founded the museum on the same site 30 years ago this week.

— mary louise schumacher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Danny Glover headlines event celebrating return of America's Black Holocaust Museum," 18 June 2018
The audience stands in place too, hushed, soaking up the lyrics like mice would crumbs from under the table.

— brennan carley, GQ, "On No Shame, Lily Allen Is Writing Her Own Headlines," 17 May 2018
Inside the cool, hushed second-floor lounge of Dubai’s grandest hotel, a waiter carefully prepares a shallow glass of 12-year Macallan.

— SI.com, "Exiled by the Cubs, Sammy Sosa Is Enjoying the Life He Wants You to See," 27 June 2018
After dramatically hushing Prince George, who clearly wasn’t complying with Phillips’s wishes, the little girl locked eyes with cameras and placed her hand over the future king’s mouth.

— amanda arnold, The Cut, "This Little Girl Was Not Into Prince George’s Singing Voice," 10 June 2018
There is no boat ramp and the only way to reach the water is a quarter-mile hike through hushed woods.

— roger naylor, azcentral, "Cool off this summer at these lakes near Payson," 8 June 2018
For almost 20 years, in classrooms hushed by anguish, students have shared with me their stories of dead fathers, brothers, uncles, and cousins in countless essays that would break your heart.

— helen ubiñas, Philly.com, "'Dear Philadelphians of privilege…' | Helen Ubiñas," 24 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hush.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hush

back-formation from husht hushed, from Middle English hussht, from huissht, interjection used to enjoin silence

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First Known Use: 1546

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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hush Synonyms

Phrases

cool it;

hush

adjective

Definition of hush

1 archaic : silent, still

2 : intended to prevent the dissemination of certain information

hush money

Recent Examples of hush from the Web

In January, a story in the Wall Street Journal first revealed that Michael Cohen, Trump’s attorney paid Daniels $130,000 in hush money to stay quiet about a brief tryst in 2006.

— ryan smith, Chicago Reader, "News / Politics / The Trump Era Stormy Daniels storms out of Chicago strip club: 'I got fired,' she says as weekend shows appear canceled," 15 June 2018
Last week, Rudy Giuliani, a member of Trump’s legal team, said that Trump had repaid his lawyer for the hush payment via installments.

— maya rhodan, Time, "Americans Like First Lady Melania Trump, Poll Shows," 7 May 2018
The new details come just hours after Trump admitted to paying back Cohen for the now infamous hush payment to Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.

— christal hayes, USA TODAY, "Trump attorney Michael Cohen was wiretapped, feds intercepted call with White House: report," 3 May 2018
The attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels has accused Cohen of paying her hush money in 2016 to cover up a relationship with Mr. Trump.

— jeff pegues, CBS News, "Exclusive: Michael Cohen believes Trump and his allies are turning on him," 14 June 2018
In the weeks before the November 2016 presidential election, Davidson and Cohen negotiated the deal to pay Daniels the hush money.

— michael finnegan, latimes.com, "Stormy Daniels sues her former lawyer, accusing him of colluding with Trump attorney Michael Cohen," 7 June 2018
Giuliani said Trump had reimbursed Cohen for that payment, meaning that Trump knew where the money for the payment came from -- which runs contrary to Trump's past assertions about the hush money.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "21 head-scratching lines from a(nother) disastrous Rudy Giuliani interview," 7 May 2018
And his attempts to fix the mess — including saying that Trump has paid Cohen in installments adding up to more than $400,000 for the hush money — haven’t gone much better, as shown by the Stephanopoulos interview.

— emily stewart, Vox, "Rudy Giuliani won’t rule out Trump pleading the Fifth Amendment in another bewildering interview," 6 May 2018
That opens up another front for the already legally beleaguered Trump: If there’s any truth to this coordination, and the Federal Election Commission substantiates it, the unreported hush money may have well violated campaign finance laws.

— cristian farias, Daily Intelligencer, "Stormy Daniels Is Beating Donald Trump at His Own Game," 24 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of hush

1602

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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hush

noun

Definition of hush

: a silence or calm especially following noise : quiet

See hush defined for English-language learners

Examples of hush in a Sentence

the storm passed, and a hush fell over the sea
a hush fell over the auditorium as the lights went down

Recent Examples of hush from the Web

Oh, hush hush, wink wink, that guy’s kind of a creep who’s the CEO,’ today that guy’s gone.

— katy steinmetz, Time, "Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake on Why Gender Matters In the Business World," 3 May 2018
She's been very hush hush about it, of course—that's just her way.

— brie schwartz, Redbook, "Gwyneth Paltrow and Her Man Are Instagram Official," 22 Sep. 2015
There's no fighting when Aluna's breathy voice puts a hush on the room.

— kat bein, Billboard, "10 Songs About Unity & Coming Together," 2 July 2018
And yet, new sections of that absurd wall are being considered that would destroy that hush.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "‘Like Floating Through a Library’: An Interview with Nick Paumgarten," 7 May 2018
That same hush pervades this leisurely drama about a French farming family during World War I, with Nathalie Baye in a decidedly unglamorous role as the beleaguered matriarch.

— Chicago Reader, "More than 60 new features premiere locally at the European Union Film Festival," 7 Mar. 2018
Historically, the Fed has gone to great lengths to be hush-hush.

— susan tompor, Detroit Free Press, "How can Fed make investors uncertain? U-M professor says it's obvious," 22 June 2018
That's because Trump's control over — and Cohen's involvement in — the Enquirer's and its publisher American Media Inc.'s business is at the enter of the probe into Cohen and alleged hush-money payments to Trump's accusers.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "Trump’s Michael Cohen problem just keeps looking more ominous," 22 June 2018
Davidson reportedly ordered the $93,000 ring at the end of May. Both stars have been pretty hush-hush about their pending nuptials otherwise, although the pairing’s already gotten approval from former co-stars and celebrity mentors alike.

— refinery29.com, "Pete Davidson & Ariana Grande May Have Just Moved In Together," 17 June 2018

First Known Use of hush

1650

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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hush Synonyms

Synonyms

calm, calmness, peace, peacefulness, placidity, quiet, quietness, quietude, repose, restfulness, sereneness, serenity, still, stillness, tranquillity (or tranquility);

Antonyms

bustle, commotion, hubbub, hurly-burly, pandemonium, tumult, turmoil, unquietness, unrest, uproar;

Near Antonyms

clamor, din, noise, racket;

Related Words

lull, pause, respite;

silence;

mildness, soothingness;

comity, concord, harmony;

casualness, easygoingness, informality, laid-backness, relaxedness;

HUSH Defined for English Language Learners

hush

verb

Definition of hush for English Language Learners

: to make (someone) quiet, calm, or still
: to become quiet

hush

noun

Definition of hush for English Language Learners

: a time of silence, stillness, or calm especially after noise

HUSH Defined for Kids

hush

verb \ ˈhəsh \

Definition of hush for Students

hushed; hushing

: to make or become quiet, calm, or still : soothe

He hushed the baby.

hush

noun

Definition of hush for Students

: ¹quiet

A hush fell over the room.

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hush

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hush

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hush

Definition of hush

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