{
    "term": "whisper",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "whisper",
            "heSheIt": "whispers"
        },
        "pastSimple": "whispered",
        "pastParticiple": "whispered",
        "ingForm": "whispering"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "to speak very quietly to somebody so that other people cannot hear what you are saying",
            "sensetop": "whisper about somethingwhisper + speechwhisper to somebody + speechwhisper somethingwhisper something to somebodywhisper to somebody that…whisper that…",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Don't you know it's rude to whisper?"
                },
                {
                    "text": "What are you two whispering about?",
                    "contextForm": "whisper about something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Can you meet me tonight?’ he whispered.",
                    "contextForm": "whisper + speech"
                },
                {
                    "text": "'I'm sorry,' he whispered softly."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Let's go,' she whispered to Anne.",
                    "contextForm": "whisper to somebody + speech"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She leaned over and **whispered** something **in his ear**.",
                    "contextForm": "whisper something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I whispered words of comfort to him.",
                    "contextForm": "whisper something to somebody"
                },
                {
                    "text": "He whispered to me that he was afraid.",
                    "contextForm": "whisper to somebody that…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She whispered that she would tell me all about it later.",
                    "contextForm": "whisper that…"
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Come on,’ he whispered urgently."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Hush!’ he whispered against her hair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘No!’ he whispered through gritted teeth."
                },
                {
                    "text": "‘Yes, ’ I whispered back."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He could only whisper in reply."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He held her and whispered sweet nothings in her ear."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I felt that everyone was whispering about me."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She heard him whisper her name."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "murmur",
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["gently", "quietly", "softly"],
                "verb + whisper": ["can only", "hear somebody"],
                "preposition": ["about", "against", "through"],
                "phrases": [
                    "whisper something in somebody’s ear",
                    "whisper something into somebody’s ear"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "to say or suggest something about somebody/something in a private or secret way",
            "sensetop": "it is whispered that…",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It was whispered that he would soon die and he did.",
                    "contextForm": "it is whispered that…"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "to make a soft, quiet sound",
            "sensetop": "(+ adv./prep.)",
            "labels": "(literary)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "A warm breeze whispered through the trees."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspə(r)/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whisper__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspəz/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whispers__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspəd/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whispered__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspərɪŋ/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whispering__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspər/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whisper__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspərz/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whispers__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspərd/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whispered__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈwɪspərɪŋ/",
                "audio": "wh/whisper/whispering__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English hwisprian, of Germanic origin; related to German wispeln, from the imitative base of whistle."
}