Suspire

//səˈspaɪə(ɹ)// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A long, deep breath; a sigh. obsolete
Verb
  1. 1
    To breathe, especially to exhale archaic, literary

    "Fireflies that suspire / In short, soft lapses of transported flame."

  2. 2
    draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs wordnet
  3. 3
    To sigh. literary

    "Now the New Year reviving old Desires, The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires, Where the White Hand of Moses on the Bough Puts out, and Jesus from the Ground suspires."

  4. 4
    heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
breathebreatherespiresighsightake a breath

Example

More examples

"Fireflies that suspire / In short, soft lapses of transported flame."

Etymology

Late Middle English, from Latin suspīrāre. Cognate with Old French sospirer (modern soupirer) and Spanish suspirar.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.