shushed

verb

past tense of shush
as in silenced
to stop the noise or speech of shushed the crying baby

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shushed As the moment unfolded, Savannah shushed the future king and even briefly placed her hand over his mouth in an effort to keep him composed. — Staff Author, InStyle, 13 June 2026 The Giants offense got shushed Wednesday night by Shohei Ohtani, and their hitters went down almost as quietly against right-hander Emmet Sheehan. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 15 May 2026 To the point where Reid shushed him down at times. — Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026 Lyonne shushed the staffer, got up and headed to the bathroom, according to Page Six. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 9 Apr. 2026 Some shushed the crowds, urging them to be silent and reverent. — CBS News, 11 Feb. 2026 Jena asked, for which she was shushed), that was spotted and strong enough to kill a man. — Literary Hub, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shushed
  1. silenced
  2. quieted
  3. hushed
  4. muted
  5. settled
  6. stilled
Verb
  • Kyle Tucker silenced a season’s worth of criticism with a 408-foot, two-run homer in the sixth, giving Dodgers breathing room in a 5-3 NLDS Game 1 win over Atlanta.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • What’s worse, the law put the onus on them to ask to be silenced.
    — Gretchen Carlson, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of silenced
Verb
  • At one point, the audience tentatively started clapping then quickly quieted back down.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2026
  • When the room finally quieted, Mom, his recovery room nurse, placed gauze over his eyes to block the hallway light.
    — Washington Post readers, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of quieted
Verb
  • The normally festive and rowdy crowd inside the basketball arena in Dallas quickly hushed as a five-minute memorial video began playing.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Moments ago, the courtroom was hushed when the mistrial was declared, marking an emotional close for this jury in the nearly six-week trial.
    — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of hushed
Verb
  • Initial jobless claims have remained muted, while continuing claims for benefits are at their lowest level in more than three years, new data showed Thursday.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Instead of the live stream being cut, or at the very least muted between players talking to reporters, KCRA's rolled on, and two female reporters in attendance were caught making quite the admissions about LaVine and Simmons.
    — Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of muted
Verb
  • To double down further, Sony dropped the teaser — intentionally — on the same day Meta settled its child-harm case filed by numerous attorneys general.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
  • The government forces settled into a more defensive posture after the defeat in the southwest.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of settled
Verb
  • Rebecca’s hands stilled, and the girl stared at her grandmother, wide-eyed.
    — Rachel Yoder, New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Both the Moody Mansion and the 1892 Bishop’s Palace are museums stilled in time and filled with the marks of late 19th-century splendor.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 July 2026
Definition of stilled

Browse Nearby Words

shush
shushed
shushes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shushed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shushed. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All