hissed

Definition of hissednext
past tense of hiss
as in whistled
to make a sound like that of stretching out the speech sound \s\ the frightened kitten hissed at us when we tried to pick it up

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hissed Refn has made characters moving and speaking in a benzodiazepine fugue state — lines hissed out stiltedly into dead air, spoken like throwing stones down a well — his signature in recent films. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 19 May 2026 His line drive hissed past a leaping Steffen for a 3-2 Miami lead. Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026 Like the tongues of a multi-headed snake, the Trail of Tears hissed through Chattanooga, Northern Alabama, Western North Carolina, Middle Tennessee and up through Southern Illinois, down through Missouri, across Arkansas before stopping in what is now Eastern Oklahoma. Keith Sharon, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026 The site, which bubbled and hissed for decades, is still called the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Quanta Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026 The heaters hissed and clanked, let off steam, fogged up the windows. Literary Hub, 16 Dec. 2025 Many more dogs licked the cat than the opposite, and more felines ignored, ran away, and hissed at the dog than vice versa. Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025 Getting hissed off So here’s a thing that happened. Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2025 Nineteen hours after departure the train took its final breath, hissed and braked into the historic port of Narvik. The Editors, Outside, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hissed
Verb
  • That prospect flared up for Seoane as the home fans whistled and booed at the final whistle, and became reality on Monday when the club’s board acted.
    Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The Rangers were marching toward that goal when conflict bubbled back to the surface.
    Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • Our blind taste test deduced which flavored fizzes bubbled up to the top.
    Emily Heil, Washington Post, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • When the video screen showed Caruso, the rabid Thunder fans doubled their volume, as if a game-winning buzzer-beater had just swished.
    Marcus Thompson II, New York Times, 19 May 2026
  • In one of the top games, Atlanta’s Paul Parks took a 6-2 lead over Miami’s Byrd Daniel III, before Daniel swished two straight behind the arc to tie it at six points.
    Jason Beede, Sun Sentinel, 16 May 2026
Verb
  • The rally fizzled without a run.
    Matt Gelb, New York Times, 31 May 2026
  • As his own self-celebration has fizzled, a void has opened between the scheduled roster of events and the true purpose and meaning of the solemnity of July 4, 2026.
    David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
Verb
  • After a couple of wide ones, Root whizzed another strike past the great man.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
  • Inside the deli, workers leapt for cover as bullets whizzed through the store.
    Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 16 May 2026
Verb
  • Everyone from Tiffany Haddish, Remi Bader and Claire Kittle (who all made their runway debuts) to Camille Kostek, Alix Earle and all four of the Nader sisters — Sarah Jane, Mary Holland, Brooks Nader and Grace Ann — sizzled in sexy swimwear.
    Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 1 June 2026
  • The AMAs sizzled, attracting over 40 million viewers.
    Lily Moayeri, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Hissed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hissed. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.

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