noun
Describes a low, murmuring noise or a sense of restless activity, often from a crowd or environment.
教室にざわめきが広がった。
A stir spread through the classroom.
会場はざわめきに包まれていた。
The venue was filled with a low commotion.
ざわざわ is an onomatopoeic adverb describing a continuous murmuring sound, while ざわめき is a noun for the state or instance of such noise.
Derived from the onomatopoeic root ざわ (zawa), mimicking a murmuring sound, with the nominalizing suffix めき.