murmuring

«murmuring» in Mova's school dictionary: Saying something quietly and softly, so it is hard to hear — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb, -ing form of murmur (murmuring); noun (a murmuring, murmurings); adjective (murmuring)

meaning for a pupil

1) Saying something quietly and softly, so it is hard to hear. tree →

2) Making a low, soft, continuous sound, like a stream, bees or the wind in leaves. tree →

3) (noun) Murmurings are quiet complaints or rumours: «murmurings of unhappiness». tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories, a murmuring river or murmuring voices create a calm or secret mood. In The Wind in the Willows, the river is always murmuring and chattering, and the reeds whisper. In the Bible, the Israelites' «murmuring» in the desert means grumbling against Moses. Phrases: «murmuring stream», «murmuring voices».

examples

• The murmuring stream sent me to sleep. tree →
• We could hear voices murmuring behind the door. tree →
• Bees were murmuring in the lavender. tree →
• There were murmurings in class when the trip was cancelled. tree →
• The river went on murmuring through the night. tree →
• Mum sat murmuring a lullaby to the baby. tree →
• The crowd was murmuring before the show began. tree →
• The faint sound of murmuring people was in the air. tree →

note

Spelling: murmur + ing (one r at the end, no doubling). See murmur. Similar: whispering, muttering (more grumbly), humming.

In the corpora

• Rowing home in the evening sun, the Rat is murmuring poetry to himself.
• 'I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel.
• 'How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, that keep murmuring against Me?
• I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they keep murmuring against Me.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «murmuring» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.