sigh
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to let out a deep breath that people can hear because you are tired, sad, or disappointed.
v.to emit a long, deep, audible breath expressing fatigue, frustration, or grief. Intransitive in its primary sense.
Simple“She sighed with relief when she finally found her lost keys in her bag.”
In context“The professor sighed audibly as he began grading the stack of poorly researched essays that had arrived just before the weekend.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to make a sound like a person breathing out, like wind in the trees.
v.to produce a sound reminiscent of a human sigh, typically used of wind or moving air.
Simple“The wind sighed through the tall pine trees behind the house.”
In context“A gentle breeze sighed through the open casement, carrying the scent of damp earth and jasmine into the quiet library.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
n.the sound you make when you breathe out deeply because of a strong feeling.
n.a single deep, audible respiration expressive of sorrow, weariness, or relief.
Simple“With a heavy sigh, he sat down and started his homework.”
In context“The negotiator let out a long sigh of frustration when the talks reached another unexpected stalemate after hours of progress.”
Synonymsexhalationbreath - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
interj.a word used in text messages or emails to show you are tired or annoyed.
interj.a written representation of the act of sighing, used to convey a pragmatic mood of resignation or mild annoyance in digital discourse.
Simple“Sigh, I have to work late again tonight.”
In context“Sigh, I just realised I left my umbrella on the train and it is starting to pour.”
- 05 C2 Proficiency
n.a person who is very bored or boring.
n.a person characterised by boredom or lack of interest. Derived from rhyming slang 'sigh and groan'.
Simple“Don't be such a sigh; come out to the party with us.”
In context“He was known as a bit of a sigh among his colleagues, rarely contributing anything of substance to the office social events.”
Synonyms
Usage sigh of relief
“As I gently removed him, I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the Tic Tac-size device sitting on his back.”
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”).
From Middle English sighe (“sigh”), from sighen (“to sigh”) (see [[#Etymology 1]]).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.