hush Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun (poetic) tranquil silence
stillness; still.
- the still of the night
verb become quiet or still; fall silent
- hush my baby!
verb cause to be quiet or not talk
shut up; hush up; quieten; still; silence.
- Please silence the children in the church!
verb become quiet or quieter
quiesce; pipe down; quiet; quiet down; quieten.
- The audience fell silent when the speaker entered
verb wash by removing particles
- Wash ores
verb run water over the ground to erode (soil), revealing the underlying strata and valuable minerals

OE. huschen, hussen, prob. of imitative origin; cf. LG. hussen to lull to sleep, G. husch quick, make haste, be silent.

imperfect & past participle Hushed ; present participle & verbal noun Hushing

To still; to silence; to calm; to make quiet; to repress the noise or clamor of.
My tongue shall hush again this storm of war. Shak.
To appease; to allay; to calm; to soothe.
With thou, then, Hush my cares? Otway.

And hush'd my deepest grief of all. Tennyson.
Pope.

To become or to keep still or quiet; to become silent; -- esp. used in the imperative, as an exclamation; be still; be silent or quiet; make no noise.
Hush, idle words, and thoughts of ill. Keble.

But all these strangers' presence every one did hush. Spenser.