rumour
[noun]
Synonyms: story, buzz, dirt (U.S. slang), gossip, hearsay, news, report, talk, whisper, word

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English Thesaurus: rumour, speculation, gossip, talk, hearsay, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

ru‧mour British English, rumor American English /ˈruːmə $ -ər/ noun [uncountable and countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: rumour, from Latin rumor]

1. information or a story that is passed from one person to another and which may or may not be true
rumour about/of
I’ve heard all sorts of rumours about him and his secretary.
rumour that
There’s an unsubstantiated rumour that Eddie is bankrupt.

2. the rumour mill the people, considered as a group, who discuss something and pass rumours to each other:
His name has come up in the rumour mill as a possible director for the project.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

rumour
noun
ADJ. malicious, nasty, scurrilous, ugly, vicious | baseless, false, unconfirmed, unfounded, unsubstantiated, wild | strong, widespread | persistent
VERB + RUMOUR start | fuel His lengthy absence from work fuelled rumours that he might have been sacked.
spread | hear | believe | deny | confirm The actor confirmed rumours that he will be leaving the series.
quash, scotch, silence The Chief Executive issued a statement to quash rumours of financial problems.
RUMOUR + VERB circulate, get about/around, go around/round, spread | abound, be flying about/around, be rife Rumours about an impending royal divorce were rife.
sweep sth The rumour quickly swept the town.
persist
RUMOUR + NOUN factory, mill The Washington rumour mill suggests the money changed hands illegally.
PREP. amid/amidst ~s The manager resigned suddenly amidst rumours of misconduct.
~ about/concerning/surrounding rumours surrounding the closure of the hospital
~ of There were persistent rumours of drug taking among staff.
PHRASES rumour has it that … Rumour has it that he was sacked from his last job.
there is no truth in the rumour There is no truth in the rumour that the head teacher is about to resign.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

rumour

a rumour spreads
A rumour spread that he had been killed.
a rumour goes around (also a rumour circulates formal) (=a rumour is passed among people)
There are a lot of rumors going around that they’re going to sell the company.
Not long afterwards, ugly rumours began to circulate.
rumour has it (=it is being said)
Rumour has it that they plan to get married.
rumours fly around (=are talked about by a lot of people)
There were wild rumours flying around the office on Wednesday.
hear a rumour
I heard a rumour that she was leaving.
spread a rumour
Someone has been spreading rumours about us.
deny a rumour
He is denying rumors that he plans to drop out of the race.
confirm a rumour (=say that it is true)
The actor’s agent would not confirm the rumour.
false/unfounded
He says that the rumours are completely unfounded.
False rumors began to spread that troops were massing on the border.
rumours are rife (=are talked about by a lot of people)
Rumours were rife that the band had refused to play.
a widespread rumour
The arrests followed widespread rumours of police corruption.
a persistent rumour (=one that keeps being repeated for a long time)
Despite persistent rumours of an affair, his wife stood by him.
a strong rumour (=a rumour that is likely to be true)
There is a strong rumour that the government is planning to drop the idea.
a wild rumour (=one that is completely untrue)
It has been a week of wild rumour and exaggeration.
a malicious rumour (=a false one that someone spreads to make trouble)
The claims were dismissed by the government as ‘malicious rumours’.
an ugly/nasty rumour (=a rumour about something bad)
Ugly rumours persisted that there had been a cover-up.
an unsubstantiated rumour (=one that has not been proved to be true)
These are only unsubstantiated rumours.
a scurrilous rumour formal (=a damaging and false rumour)
Journalists spread scurrilous rumours about the school.
wild rumours (=rumours that are not likely to be true)
This led to wild rumours of American involvement in the attack.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

rumour British English, rumor American English noun [uncountable and countable] information or a story that is passed from one person to another and which may or may not be true:
The band denied the rumours that they may be splitting up.
The truth finally came out after months of rumour.
I've heard rumours about a ghost in the building.
speculation noun [uncountable] a situation in which a lot of people are talking about something that is happening, especially something that is happening in politics or public life, and trying to guess what the truth is:
There was a great deal of speculation about a possible merger involving Belgium’s largest banks.
The report fuelled speculation (=caused more speculation) that he was about to resign.
His future as a player has been the subject of intense speculation.
gossip noun [uncountable] things that people say about what they think has happened in other people's private lives, which is usually not true :
She tells me all the latest gossip from the office.
The magazine was full of gossip about celebrities.
You shouldn't believe every piece of gossip you hear.
talk noun [uncountable] something that people talk about a lot but which is not official:
The government has dismissed talk of a military strike on the country.
There's been a lot of talk of him resigning.
hearsay noun [uncountable] something that you have heard from someone else, but cannot prove whether it is true or untrue – often used in legal contexts:
All the accounts were based on hearsay rather than eye-witness reports.
hearsay evidence

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲