silent
/ˈsaɪ̯lənt/ adjective, noun
Forms silenter silentest silents scilent
- adjective Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.
- adjective Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
- adjective Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed.
- adjective (pronunciation) Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent. “The e is silent in fable.”
- adjective Having no effect; not operating; inefficient.
- adjective (technology) With the sound turned off; usually on silent or in silent mode. “My phone was on silent.”
- adjective (technology) Without audio capability. “The Magnavox Odyssey was a silent console.”
- adjective Hidden, unseen. “a silent voter; a silent partner”
- noun (uncountable) That which is silent; a time of silence.
- noun A silent movie
- noun (chiefly in the plural) A member of the Silent Generation.
Synonyms
quiet speechless dumb dormant mute quiescent servile concealed taciturn still invisible occluded silential noiseless soundless mum tacit understood unsounded
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.
- adjective Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
- noun That which is silent; a time of silence. [R.] "The silent of the night." Shak.
Etymology [L. silens, -entis, p. pr. of silere to be silent; akin to Goth. ana-silan.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “silent”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details