Hush

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Hush

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

verb, noun, and exclamation

Pronunciation

hush  /hʌʃ/

Definition

As a verb: to make or become quiet; to silence someone; to suppress or conceal (hush up). As a noun: a silence or sudden quiet. As an exclamation: used to tell someone to be quiet.

Plain meaning

Hush means to make quiet or be quiet. You hush a crying baby. The room fell into a hush means it became suddenly silent. Hush! as an exclamation asks someone to stop talking. To hush something up means to suppress or conceal information about it — a scandal that was hushed up.

Register

Neutral as a command for quiet; informal to formal when used of suppression (hush up, hush money). Hush is softer and more soothing than be quiet or shut up — it is the word used to calm, not to control.