What does murmur mean?
Word: Murmur
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Murmur means a soft, low, steady sound, such as voices speaking quietly or water running. As a verb, it means to say something in a low voice.
Synonyms: whisper, mutter, mumble, hum
Antonyms: yell, roar
Word origin: Comes from Latin murmur, a humming or muttering sound.
How do you spell murmur?
Syllables: mur - mur
Tricky part: Students often write the second half with an e (murmer), because the last syllable is said weakly. The vowel is u in both halves.
Watch out for: murmer, mermur, murmour
Memory tip: Think of a murmur as one soft sound made twice, and keep the u both times.
Murmur in a sentence
Example 1: We could hear the murmur of the stream from our tent.
Example 2: There was a murmur of surprise when the new principal walked in.
Example 3: She murmured a quick thank you and hurried out of the room.
Fun Fact
Doctors call an extra swishing sound in the heartbeat a heart murmur. It is heard through a stethoscope and is often harmless.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
murmur
a) sigh
b) drone
c) buzz
d) shout
Show answer
d) shout. Drone, buzz and sigh are all low, soft sounds; a shout is loud.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
A low murmur of voices filled the libary as the students waited for the quiz.
a) quiz
b) libary
c) voices
d) murmur
Show answer
b) libary. Library has an r after the b.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) whimpper
b) chatterring
c) murmur
d) mumbel
Show answer
c) murmur. Mumble ends in ble, whimper has one p and chattering has one r before ing.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
mmurur
a) mutter
b) murmur
c) rumour
d) summer
Show answer
b) murmur. Rumour has an o, mutter two t's and summer an s; the jumble has two m's and two r's.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Out in the countryside, what might make a soft murmur?
a) a firecracker going off nearby
b) a fire alarm ringing in a hall
c) leaves rustling in a breeze
d) a thunderclap right overhead
Show answer
c) leaves rustling in a breeze
2. Which of these people is murmuring?
a) a vendor shouting prices at the busy market
b) a teacher calling the register across the field
c) a girl cheering loudly at a cricket match
d) a boy talking softly to a friend in the library
Show answer
d) a boy talking softly to a friend in the library
