Listening Quotes

Listening refers to action of the verb listening. It commonly describes an educational exercise involving listening, skill or ability of perceiving spoken language, and of something or someone that listens, which gives the term a broader and more practical sense than a single short definition would suggest. Depending on context, it can also point to of something that is used in order to hear or to improve the ability to hear, of an action that is performed with caution and attention to sounds, and to pay attention to a sound or speech, so the category can cover literal uses, related ideas, and more figurative extensions of the same core meaning. Taken together, these meanings present Listening as a flexible theme rather than a narrowly technical label, covering the central idea people usually mean when they use the word while still leaving room for closely related senses that appear in real language. Additional shades of meaning include to expect or wait for a sound, such as a signal, to accept advice or obey instruction; to agree or assent, and to hear (something or someone), to pay attention to, which reinforce how the category can stretch across adjacent but still recognizable uses of the same term.

Featured Authors on Talking

Photo of Albert Guinon

Albert Guinon

(1863-1923)

Photo of Po Bronson

Po Bronson

(b. 1964)

Photo of Mignon McLaughlin

Mignon McLaughlin

(1913-1983)