sighing

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of sigh.

   Sighing deeply, she set the letter down and stared out the window.

   The old dog lay by the fire, sighing in its sleep.

   Note

   The participle carries the verb's whole range, including its transitive uses. Someone can be sighing a reply or sighing out a breath, and wind or trees can be sighing when they only make a similar sound. As a gerund it still behaves like a verb, taking objects and adverbs (sighing deeply). The noun for a sigh takes adjectives and a plural instead.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The act of letting out a long, audible breath that expresses weariness, sadness, or relief.

   The room filled with the quiet sighing of disappointed fans.

   His constant sighing during dinner made his unhappiness obvious.

   Similargroaning, moaning

   Note

   The noun comes down from Middle English sighynge, though it still reads plainly as sigh plus -ing. It can be counted. Sighings in the plural names a run of separate sighs, and it is often paired with similar sound-nouns, as in the groanings and sighings of the dying man. Its near-synonyms sorrow and grief show how readily the sound stands in for the feeling behind it.

3. 3
   adjective

   Carried out with, or accompanied by, a long audible breath of weariness or longing.

   The actor delivered a sighing whisper that carried across the silent theater.

   She replied in a sighing tone, weary of the endless questions.

   Similarweary, wistful, breathy, mournful

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