sibilate

/ˌsɪbəˈleɪt/

Other forms: sibilated; sibilating; sibilates

When an audience is so angry or disapproving that they make a hissing sound, they sibilate. Little kids who are missing their front teeth often sibilate too.

You sibilate to some degree every time you pronounce the letter s — the hissing sound itself is called sibilance, or described as sibilant. When your friend tries to catch your attention in the library by saying, "Psst!" she sibilates. And the librarian sibilates too, when he angrily shushes her with a loud "Shhh!" Sibilate comes from the Latin sibilare, "to hiss or whistle."

Definitions of sibilate

1. verb

   make a sharp hissing sound, as if to show disapproval
   synonyms: hiss, siss, sizz

   type of:

   emit, let loose, let out, utter

   express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words)
2. verb

   utter a sibilant
   types:

   assibilate

   insert a sibilant sound before or after (another sound)

   type of:

   emit, let loose, let out, utter

   express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words)
3. verb

   express or utter with a hiss
   synonyms: hiss, siss, sizz

   type of:

   mouth, speak, talk, utter, verbalise, verbalize

   express in speech
4. verb

   pronounce with an initial sibilant
   type of:

   articulate, enounce, enunciate, pronounce, say, sound out

   speak, pronounce, or utter in a certain way