to sough
- 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
To say something while breathing out slowly to show you are tired, sad, or relieved
To make a bubbling sound like water moving in a bottle
To speak in a low, quiet voice, often to complain or say something softly
Make a soft bubbling sound as water moves over stones
A soft quiet sound that moves through things like wind in grass
A soft rustling sound that wind makes in trees or leaves
To make a soft whispering or rustling sound like leaves
Making a low continuous sound like soft voices or gentle waves
Making a soft sound like leaves when they move
To flow quietly and make a soft, pleasant sound like a small stream
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.