Word.ws English Dictionary

stage whisper

UK/ˈsteɪdʒ ˈwɪs.pə//ˈsteɪdʒ ˈwɪs.pɚ/

stage whisper noun: a line that is performed on stage as if it were whispered, but is spoken loud enough for the audience to hear.

Noun

stage whisper (plural stage whispers)

  1. A line that is performed on stage as if it were whispered, but is spoken loud enough for the audience to hear.
    • '[…]When the division was announced, he chuckled exceedingly, and in a stage whisper exclaimed, "Grey is check-mated !" '1869, “Lives of Lord Lyndhurst and Lord Brougham”, in The Edinburgh Review, volume CXXIX, pages 568–569
    • Near to the audience the stage whisper was not much louder, although more distinct, than an ordinary whisper in private life.1887, Sir Frederick Pollock, Personal Remembrances of Sir Frederick Pollock, page 248
  2. (broadly) Any loud whisper intended to be overheard.

Verb

stage whisper (third-person singular simple present stage whispers, present participle stage whispering, simple past and past participle stage whispered)

  1. To perform a stage whisper.
    • The duet was embellished with stage-whispered solos [...]1878, Things in General, volume 2, p. 132
    • “The captain's voice, by G–!” said the stage-whispering ruffian, and both robbers fled by the way of the back door, shutting off their bull's-eye as they ran.1883, Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi, chapter 31 "A Thumb-print and What Came of It"

stage whisper meaning in Malayalam and Kannada

stage whisper in Malayalam

നടന്റെ ആത്മഗതം

stage whisper in Kannada

ಸ್ವಗತ, ಆತ್ಮಗತ ಭಾಷಣ, ರಂಗದ ಪಿಸುಮಾತು, ಅಪವಾರಿತ

Examples of stage whisper in a sentence

  • There is some evidence to suggest that in whispered speech, particularly stage whispered speech, the larynx is raised appreciably.
  • Perhaps because of this, the convention of the 'stage whisper' came into being.1998, Michael McCallion, The Voice Book, page 189:
  • "Pretty legs," said Rebo in a stage whisper as Peter slowed down.2001, Shelley Freydont, High Seas Murder, page 326:

Forms of stage whisper

Noun
pluralstage whispers
alternative formstage-whisper
Verb
third-person singular presentstage whispers
present participlestage whispering
past participlestage whispered
paststage whispered

Origin of stage whisper

stage + whisper

Questions about stage whisper

What does stage whisper mean?
Stage whisper means a line that is performed on stage as if it were whispered, but is spoken loud enough for the audience to hear.
What is stage whisper in Malayalam?
Stage whisper in Malayalam is നടന്റെ ആത്മഗതം. See Stage whisper meaning in Malayalam.
How do you use stage whisper in a sentence?
There is some evidence to suggest that in whispered speech, particularly stage whispered speech, the larynx is raised appreciably.
What part of speech is stage whisper?
Stage whisper can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce stage whisper?
Stage whisper is pronounced /ˈsteɪdʒ ˈwɪs.pə/ (UK).
What is the plural of stage whisper?
The plural of stage whisper is stage whispers.

Words near stage whisper in the dictionary

  1. stage settings
  2. stage show
  3. stage shows
  4. stage wagon
  5. stage wagons
  6. stage whisper
  7. stage whispered
  8. stage whispering
  9. stage whispers
  10. stage-coach
  11. stage-coached

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: stage whisper (page history and authors); stage whisper (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); stage whisper (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-stage whisper.ogg, en-au-stage whisper.ogg.

Cite this entry: “stage whisper.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/stage_whisper. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.