Susurrus
[soo-SUR-əs]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, mid-19th century
1.
Whispering, murmuring, or rustling.
Examples of Susurrus in a sentence
"The quiet susurrus is a soothing backdrop for reading."
"You could hear the susurrus of the audience before the curtain went up."
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About Susurrus
It's not technically an onomatopoeia (a word that resembles a sound, such as plop or meow), but it's pretty close. Susurrus means a soft whisper or murmurring sound. It's what you hear when the wind blows through fall leaves or waves are crashing on the shore.
Did you Know?
In Latin, "susurrus" is the noun for a whisper, and "susurrare" is the verb for to murmur or hum. In English we've maintained susurrus as a whispering noise, but you might also see it as "susurration." We prefer to stick to the more poetic and original Latin spelling.
