Speaks very softly (8)
I believe the answer is:
whispers
'speaks very softly' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for whispers that I've seen before include "Breaths words rather than voices them" , "Speaks very softly" , "Secret messages" , "Speaks soft and low" , "misconstrued by Chinese?" .)