mute

American  

[myoot] / myut /

adjective

muter, mutest

1. silent; refraining from speech or utterance.

   Antonyms:

   talkative

2. not emitting or having sound of any kind.

3. incapable of speech (offensive when applied to humans).

   Animals are mute and are only able to speak in fairy tales and fables.

4. (of letters) silent; not pronounced.

   The mute “e” in the word “dime” makes the preceding vowel long, so it is not pronounced like “dim.”

5. Law. (of a person who has been arraigned) making no plea or giving an irrelevant response when arraigned, or refusing to stand trial (used chiefly in the phraseto stand mute ).

6. Fox Hunting. (of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.

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noun

1. Offensive. a person incapable of speech.

2. an actor whose part is confined to dumb show.

3. Law. a person who stands mute when arraigned.

4. Also called sordino.  a mechanical device of various shapes and materials for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.

5. Phonetics. (especially in older use) stop.

6. British Obsolete. a hired mourner at a funeral; a professional mourner.

verb (used with object)

muted, muting

1. to deaden or muffle the sound of.

   The music was a little muted by distance and the trees.

2. to turn off (a microphone, a speaker, or audio).

   During the commercials, they muted the TV and discussed the game.

   Check the mic icon to make sure you're not muted.

3. to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color.

4. to soften or subdue; moderate.

   His happiness about returning to the United States was muted by his concern for the other hostages.

mute ¹ British  

/ mjuːt /

adjective

1. not giving out sound or speech; silent

2. unable to speak; dumb

3. unspoken or unexpressed

   mute dislike

4. law (of a person arraigned on indictment) refusing to answer a charge

5. phonetics another word for plosive

6. (of a letter in a word) silent

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noun

1. a person who is unable to speak

2. law a person who refuses to plead when arraigned on indictment for an offence

3. any of various devices used to soften the tone of stringed or brass instruments

4. phonetics a plosive consonant; stop

5. a silent letter

6. an actor in a dumb show

7. a hired mourner at a funeral

verb

1. to reduce the volume of (a musical instrument) by means of a mute, soft pedal, etc

2. to subdue the strength of (a colour, tone, lighting, etc)

mute ² British  

/ mjuːt /

verb

1. (of birds) to discharge (faeces)

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noun

1. birds' faeces

Sensitive Note

See dumb.

Usage

Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive and should be avoided. The phrase profoundly deaf is a suitable alternative in many contexts

Other Word Forms

• mutely adverb
• muteness noun

Etymology

Origin of mute

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English muet, mewet, muwet, from Old French müet, muet, diminutive formation of Old French mu, from Latin mūtus “dumb, inarticulate”; -et

Example Sentences

While the higher cost of memory could weigh on iPhone gross margins, he sees the impact on Apple’s earnings per share being “relatively muted.”

From MarketWatch

Highguard's "world premiere" at The Game Awards received a muted reaction, with many fans confused by its prominence in the show.

From BBC

I reach for the remote to mute him, but before I can press the button, a huge picture of my mother flashes on the screen.

From Literature

Like many health insurers, however, CVS’s outlook for 2026 is somewhat muted, though it is outperforming many of its competitors in this market.

From MarketWatch

After-hours trading was muted, with tech giants trading up or down less than 1%.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dampen
• soften
• subdue