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🐍 A sharp sound 🐍 To make sharp sound 🤫 To whisper angrily
to hiss

to hiss

31 4.2
To speak in a low, sharp voice to show anger or warn someone
  • verb
  • /hɪs/
translation icon : sisear
  • "You don't have to take it off just because he said that," Larry hissed in my ear.

And they could trigger a Placid cat to suddenly spare its teeth hiss and almost strike out at the experimenter.

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Examples

  • "What have you done?" I hiss at Momma when I arrive home.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • “Where is he?” hissed the witch.

    Piranha (1978)

  • Oh, we wanted to stand up and hiss

    The Producers (2005)

  • - Please don't hiss at a kid.

    The Night Before (2015)

  • Last time the whole audience hissed.

    Alice in Wonderland (1999)

  • "Yes, I am perfectly sure!" she hissed back through her teeth.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I told you never to come to my workplace," Sarah hissed as the door clicked shut.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • When Minnie did not look up, she hissed, "I've come to help!"

    Fiction book (1991)

  • "In the corridor, the four soldiers shifted, growing restless, and one hissed some complaint to her companion.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The audience began to hiss in disapproval as the performer made a mistake.

Synonyms

to tsk
vsto hiss
  • Informal
2 9.9

To make a short click with the tongue to show disapproval

is a s-like voiced utterance used for warning or dislike
to sizz
vsto hiss
9.9

To make a sharp hissing sound to show disapproval

is less sharp and can signal warning or general disapproval
to sibilate
vsto hiss
9.9

To make a hissing sound like s or sh when speaking

is the everyday way of making that sound to show disapproval
to hmph
vsto hiss
  • Informal
9.9

To make a short sound to show annoyance or doubt

is a s-like voiced sound used to warn or show disapproval

How Disapproving

to jeer
  • Offensive
14 6.2
to hiss
31 4.2
to tut
3 9.6
to murmur
11 4.2

Surface Forms

hiss infinitive
hissed past
hissed past participle
hissing present participle
hisses third person singular

Etymology

Hiss used for speech comes from the same idea of the 'sss' sound; to hiss words is to say them in a quiet, sharp way, often to warn or show anger. The sound-copy origin explains why people hiss to be secretive or to show disapproval.