murmur

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈmɝ.mɚ/ UK /ˈmɜː.mə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #16492

Meanings

1

verb
To speak very softly and unclearly.

She murmured softly to the baby in her arms.
2

noun
A soft, unclear sound of speech.

A murmur arose from the audience.
3

noun
Any low, continuous sound, like running water.

We fell asleep to the gentle murmur of the stream.
4

verb
To complain quietly.

The workers murmured against the new rules.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to speak very softly and... mutter

4 verb · to complain quietly. grumble

More murmurationsusurrationsusurrus

Opposites

din silence

Word family

Forms murmuredmurmurs

Derived forms murmurationmurmurermurmuringmurmuringlymurmurishmurmurlessmurmurousremurmurunmurmuredunmurmuring

Related forms humming

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

heart murmur
an unusual sound heard as blood moves through the heart

Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English murmur, murmor, murmour, from Old French murmure (modern French murmure), from Latin murmur (“murmur, humming, muttering, roaring, growling, rushing etc.”).

murmur Middle English murmure Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# murmur

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɝ.mɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɜː.mə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 16492

## Meanings
1. To speak very softly and unclearly.
2. A soft, unclear sound of speech.
3. Any low, continuous sound, like running water.
4. To complain quietly.

## Examples
- She murmured softly to the baby in her arms.
- A murmur arose from the audience.
- We fell asleep to the gentle murmur of the stream.
- The workers murmured against the new rules.

## Synonyms
- murmuration
- susurration
- susurrus

## Antonyms
- din
- silence

## Derived Forms
- murmuration
- murmurer
- murmuring
- murmuringly
- murmurish
- murmurless
- murmurous
- remurmur
- unmurmured
- unmurmuring

## Related Forms
- humming

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: murmur
- Root: murmure

## Etymology
From Middle English murmur, murmor, murmour, from Old French murmure (modern French murmure), from Latin murmur (“murmur, humming, muttering, roaring, growling, rushing etc.”).

## AI Etymology
Murmur comes from Middle English murmur, murmor, murmour, from Old French murmure (modern French murmure), from Latin murmur (“murmur, humming, muttering, roaring, growling, rushing etc.”). In present-day English its meanings include to speak very softly and unclearly, a soft, unclear sound of speech, and any low, continuous sound, like running water. The historical chain runs through murmur (Middle English), murmure (Old French), and murmur (Latin). Related and derived forms include humming, murmuration, murmurer, and murmuring.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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