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sigh

verb
/saɪ/

Etymology

From Middle English sighen (“to sigh”), back-formation from sighte, past tense form of siken, from Old English sīcan, from Proto-West Germanic *sīkan, perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *seykʷ- (“to pour out”).

  1. derived from *seykʷ-✻ — “to pour out”
  2. derived from *sīkan✻
  3. derived from sīcan
  4. inherited from sighen

Definitions

  1. To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and immediately expel it

    To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual, and immediately expel it; to make a deep single audible respiration, especially as the result or involuntary expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like.

    • When she saw it wasn't damaged, she sighed with relief.
    • He sighed. It was going to be a long night.
    • He sighed over the lost opportunity.

  2. To lament

    To lament; to grieve.

    • He sighed deeply in his spirit.

  3. To utter sighs over

    To utter sighs over; to lament or mourn over.

    • Ages to come, and men unborn, / Shall bless her name, and sigh her fate.
    • The lassie had grace given her to refuse, but with a woeful heart, and Heriotside rode off in black discontent, leaving poor Ailie to sigh her love. He came back the next day and the next, but aye he got the same answer.
  4. ›+ 7 more definitions

    1. To make a sound like sighing.

      • The wind sighed in the trees.
      • And the coming wind did roar more loud, / And the sails did sigh like sedge.
      • The winter winds are wearily sighing.

    2. To exhale (the breath) in sighs.

      • She sighed a sigh that was nearly a groan.
      • sigh a note and sing a note
      • She sighed her relief when she found her missing toddler.

    3. To express by sighs

      To express by sighs; to utter in or with sighs.

      • "I guess I have no choice," she sighed.
      • She sighed her frustrations.
      • They […] sighed forth proverbs.

    4. A deep, prolonged audible inhale and exhale of breath

      A deep, prolonged audible inhale and exhale of breath; as when fatigued, frustrated, grieved, or relieved; the act of sighing.

      • To Pollyanna the air was all the more stifling after that cool breath of the out of doors; but she did not complain. She only drew a long quivering sigh.

    5. a manifestation of grief

      a manifestation of grief; a lament.

    6. A person who is bored.

    7. An expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like, often used…

      An expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like, often used in casual written contexts.

      • Sigh, I'm so bored at work today.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for sigh. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA