silent

[sahy-luhnt]

adjective

1. making no sound; quiet; still.

   a silent motor.

   Synonyms: soundless
   Antonyms: noisy

2. refraining from speech.

3. speechless; mute.

4. not inclined to speak; taciturn; reticent.

   Antonyms: talkative

5. characterized by absence of speech or sound.

   a silent prayer.

6. unspoken; tacit.

   a silent assent.

7. omitting mention of something, as in a narrative.

   The records are silent about this crime.

8. inactive or quiescent, as a volcano.

   Synonyms: dormant

9. not sounded or pronounced.

   The “b” in “doubt” is a silent letter.

10. Movies.,  not having spoken dialogue or a soundtrack.

11. Medicine/Medical.,  producing no symptoms.

    silent gallstones.

noun

1. Usually silents. silent films.

silent

/ ˈsaɪlənt /

adjective

1. characterized by an absence or near absence of noise or sound

   a silent house

2. tending to speak very little or not at all

3. unable to speak

4. failing to speak, communicate, etc, when expected

   the witness chose to remain silent

5. not spoken or expressed

   silent assent

6. not active or in operation

   a silent volcano

7. (of a letter) used in the conventional orthography of a word but no longer pronounced in that word

   the ``k'' in ``know'' is silent

8. denoting a film that has no accompanying soundtrack, esp one made before 1927, when such soundtracks were developed

noun

1. a silent film

silent

1. Relating to a mutation that changes a nucleotide in a codon without a difference in the amino acid for which it is coded.

2. See more at point mutation

3. Producing no detectable signs or symptoms, as a medical condition such as heart attack.

Other Word Forms

• silently adverb
• silentness noun
• oversilent adjective
• oversilently adverb
• oversilentness noun
• supersilent adjective
• supersilently adverb
• unsilent adjective
• unsilently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of silent¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of silent¹

C16: from Latin silēns, from silēre to be quiet

Synonym Study

See still ¹.

Example Sentences

Miller responded by saying the president has “plenary authority” before going silent midsentence — a moment that the host said may have been a technical issue.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Social media groups about Verkhnya Krynytsya went silent after it was occupied, and the questions I posted there were left unanswered.

Read more on BBC

This land was very silent when I got it, now it's full of butterflies and bees.

Read more on BBC

She told the fringe that in power, the Tories had got into the habit of "taking policies" from green energy lobby groups, without considering whether the "silent majority" out in the country would agree.

Read more on BBC

Known as the "silent killer", hep C may cause few symptoms initially, with early signs including night sweats, brain fog, itchy skin and fatigue.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• hushed 
• mum 
• mute 
• restrained 
• reticent