susurrus
1
9.9
- noun
- /səˈsɜrəs/
:
susurro
- There was no sound but the faint susurrus of wind.
- a soft susurrus
Examples
-
The shut window blocked the sound of both the rain and the crowd below; the two blended in a soft, pattering susurrus of menace.
Fiction book (1991) -
There was a groan, a susurrus of dismissal from his audience.
Academic text (2018) -
In a high, cold place on the Unraveller's world, the wind was a constant sighing susurrus, for there was nothing to break its flow.
Blog text (32) -
Resistance is as far as she was able to go, and though we cannot make her do more, we have yet to register the political valence of her susurrus grotesque.
Academic text (2008) -
She'd known it as she lay awake listening to the susurrus of her sister and her husband in the tense darkness after the Broncos had driven away, just soft enough she could not hear the words of the argument.
Blog text (6) -
I listen to his sputtering susurrus, meanwhile easing my calf from beneath the unconscious back-hooking hold of one of his massive legs.
Fiction book (1997) -
Only an occasional siren or police whistle penetrates the neon buzz of an Anchor Steam Beer sign above the cash register and the soft susurrus sung by all old industrial buildings.
Fiction book (1994) -
In the quiet library, there was a gentle susurrus of pages turning as students studied.
-
The only sound in the still night was the soft susurrus of the leaves rustling in the breeze.
-
As the crowd gathered, a susurrus of excited whispers filled the air.
Synonyms
85
2.0
A soft rustling sound like leaves or silk moving
2
1.7
A soft, gentle sound like leaves or silk moving in the wind
1
9.9
A soft whispering sound like wind in leaves
How Soft
Surface Forms
Etymology
Susurrus comes from a Latin word susurrus that copies the soft 's' sound of whispering, like leaves moving in the wind. It means a soft, unclear 'murmuring' or 'whispering' sound, so think of the gentle 's' noise in a quiet place to remember it.