shushing

verb

present participle of shush
as in silencing
to stop the noise or speech of shushed the crying baby

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 shushing Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye. — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026 Wine country with kids in tow doesn’t have to mean a stressful afternoon of shushing and screen time. — Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026 Levy sat on the floor, watching like a proud father and shushing whisperers. — Jane Bua, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026 Top sleep aid for kids This extremely popular sound machine uses an authentic human voice to calm babies to sleep with a calming, shushing sound. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2026 Kempe then put a gloved finger to his lips, shushing the sixth consecutive sellout crowd in Anaheim. — Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026 After once rising from her seat to scold a man recording the broadcast on his phone to shushing in-studio viewers during an interview with Zohran Mamdani, Whoopi Goldberg just wrote another chapter in her comical relationship with The View's studio audience. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Jan. 2026 The snow was shushing off the roof of the garage and down on the driveway. — Alan Gionet, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025 In the clip, the then-6-year-old can be seen walking with his iPad to the next room and shushing everyone. — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shushing
  1. silencing
  2. hushing
  3. quieting
  4. muting
  5. settling
Verb
  • Widdecombe’s death has shaken British politics, silencing a longtime conservative voice from Parliament and Europe who later became a Reform UK firebrand remembered by friends for personal warmth and sharp humor.
    — Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
  • Meanwhile, Roche has abandoned two Huntington’s gene-silencing drugs after disappointing data, and drugmakers have stepped in to promote Medicare’s new obesity drug discount program.
    — Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 10 July 2026
Definition of silencing
Verb
  • If you’re used to traditional decluttering strategies that focus on sorting and purging, house hushing might feel strange.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026
  • There are a lot of ways to declutter out there—the pile method and the discernment method are two of them, and now, everyone’s hushing their house.
    — Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025
Definition of hushing
Verb
  • However, the Rams’ acquisition of Garrett puts a team that was firmly a Super Bowl favorite back in the conversation for a 2026 Super Bowl run, quieting the doubters who rose after the 2026 NFL Draft.
    — Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
  • The company says the device supports sleep by lowering cortisol within minutes, slowing the heart, quieting racing thoughts and shifting users into parasympathetic mode.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
Definition of quieting
Verb
  • During the third act, in a cunning effect, when anyone picks up a phone, the screen’s contents are displayed on a wall as the lights fade, muting the friends onstage.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
  • But the field has struggled to figure out a means of delivering RNA-muting molecules into organs and tissues beyond the liver, which has limited their reach.
    — Elaine Chen, STAT, 9 June 2026
Definition of muting
Verb
  • Oyster was checked by a specialist vet who deemed her as healthy and has since been settling into a sanctuary with specialist facilities for primates.
    — Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • If big-city energy appeals, with days spent wandering between markets and museums before settling into a top table for dinner, then the Western Cape—home to Cape Town—might be the best choice.
    — Katie Silcox, Vogue, 21 July 2026
Definition of settling

Browse Nearby Words

shushes
shushing
shut
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shushing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shushing. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All