silent
Americanadjective
-
making no sound; quiet; still.
a silent motor.
- Synonyms:
- soundless
- Antonyms:
- noisy
-
refraining from speech.
-
speechless; mute.
-
not inclined to speak; taciturn; reticent.
- Antonyms:
- talkative
-
characterized by absence of speech or sound.
a silent prayer.
-
unspoken; tacit.
a silent assent.
-
omitting mention of something, as in a narrative.
The records are silent about this crime.
-
inactive or quiescent, as a volcano.
- Synonyms:
- dormant
-
not sounded or pronounced.
The “b” in “doubt” is a silent letter.
-
Movies. not having spoken dialogue or a soundtrack.
-
Medicine/Medical. producing no symptoms.
silent gallstones.
noun
adjective
-
characterized by an absence or near absence of noise or sound
a silent house
-
tending to speak very little or not at all
-
unable to speak
-
failing to speak, communicate, etc, when expected
the witness chose to remain silent
-
not spoken or expressed
silent assent
-
not active or in operation
a silent volcano
-
(of a letter) used in the conventional orthography of a word but no longer pronounced in that word
the ``k'' in ``know'' is silent
-
denoting a film that has no accompanying soundtrack, esp one made before 1927, when such soundtracks were developed
noun
-
Relating to a mutation that changes a nucleotide in a codon without a difference in the amino acid for which it is coded.
-
See more at point mutation
-
Producing no detectable signs or symptoms, as a medical condition such as heart attack.
Synonym Usage
See still 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of silent
First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin silent-, stem of silēns “being quiet,” present participle of silēre “to be quiet”; akin to Old English sālnes “silence”
Explanation
If something is silent, it is completely quiet. After your noisy houseguests leave, you'll probably enjoy being all alone in your silent house. Sometimes a silent reading period in a third grade class truly is silent — and other times, the sound of soft giggling can be heard. People are silent when they don't speak, and a silent film has no soundtrack. You might exchange a silent message with your best friend without using words, just by raising your eyebrows or shrugging your shoulders. The Latin root of silent is silere, "be quiet or still."
Vocabulary lists containing silent
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ant, -ent
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Spelling Practice 2, Unit 8
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"First They Came for the Communists"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My daughter Manuela, 16, was silent and in tears.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
At its best, Christianity has consistently been on the side of the transgressive and the truth-teller, the one who will not remain silent.
From Salon • Jun. 5, 2026
The orchestra plays Mozart’s score as though it were, as orchestras did in the old days, accompanying a silent movie but to radically different effect.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
But it’s silent on what would happen to models that were deemed to be dangerous.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Everybody fell silent to hear her teach Glenn his ABC’s.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
