listening
English
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈlɪs.nɪŋ/, /ˈlɪs.ən.ɪŋ/
Audio (US) (file)
Etymology 1
From Middle English listnynge, lustninde, from Old English hlysnende, equivalent to listen + -ing.
Adjective
listening (not comparable)
- Of something or someone that listens.
- Any listening person can tell she's lying.
- Of something that is used in order to hear or to improve the ability to hear.
- He could hear better when he used his listening device.
- Of an action that is performed with caution and attention to sounds.
- 1912, Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, Chapter 5
- The safest cover lay close under the wall of the cañon, and here through the dense thickets Venters made his slow, listening advance toward the oval.
- 1912, Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, Chapter 5
Translations
of something that listens
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of something that is used in order to hear
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of an action that is performed with caution and attention to sounds
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Verb
listening
- present participle of listen
Derived terms
- listening post
- listening station
Etymology 2
From Middle English listnynge, lustnynge, lystenynge, equivalent to listen + -ing.
Noun
listening (plural listenings)
- Action of the verb listening
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 10, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.
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- An educational exercise involving listening
- OK, students, today we're going to do a couple of listenings about the environment, then a reading about crime.
- Skill or ability of perceiving spoken language.
- You can improve your listening well by watching English-language films.
Translations
act of listening
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ability of perceiving spoken language
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Anagrams
- enlisting, tinseling