to sough
1
9.9
- verb
- /saʊ/
- Archaic
- Water sounds, small but distinct, played between us; wind sounds, soft but large, soughed over us, as if the canyon were an immense flute that someone was breathing through.
- the soughing of the wind
Examples
-
Way above, wind soughed in the hollow chimney.
Fiction book (1993) -
Behind him, a tree soughs in the wind.
Fiction book (1990) -
I could hear the wind soughing in the firs, the cry of a gull overhead.
Fiction book (1993) -
Melting snow dripped off the house's sloping roof, and the wind soughed gently in the pine trees behind him.
Fiction book (1996) -
Overhead, the boughs of fir trees weave a soughing roof.
Fiction book (1991) -
I lay awake listening to the sounds of the night: the motors of passing vehicles reverberated beneath our balcony; the lake soughed against the shore; my wife made mewing sounds in her sleep.
Fiction book (1994) -
Scythe and axe were the writer's favorite farm tools—consonants with aspirant thickness and soughing vowels, sounds that say physically what characters they are.
Academic text (2008) -
The wind soughed gently through the trees, creating a calming atmosphere.
-
I love to sit on the porch and listen to the soft sound of the leaves soughing in the breeze.
-
As night fell, the distant waves soughed against the shore, lulling us to sleep.
Synonyms
84
4.2
To speak in a low, quiet voice, often to complain or say something softly
30
3.7
To make a bubbling sound like water moving in a bottle
5
1.9
To say something while breathing out slowly to show you are tired, sad, or relieved
3
4.2
Make a soft bubbling sound as water moves over stones
2
4.7
Making a low continuous sound like soft voices or gentle waves
2
4.2
A soft quiet sound that moves through things like wind in grass
1
3.4
Making a soft sound like leaves when they move
1
9.3
To flow quietly and make a soft, pleasant sound like a small stream
1
9.9
To make a soft whispering or rustling sound like leaves
1
9.9
A soft rustling sound that wind makes in trees or leaves
How Loud
Surface Forms
Etymology
Sough is a sound word that copies the soft, long noise wind or water makes, like a quiet 'sigh'. So, to sough is to make a soft, murmuring or sighing sound.