muted
Americanadjective
adjective
-
(of a sound or colour) softened
a muted pink shirt
-
(of an emotion or action) subdued or restrained
his response was muted
-
(of a musical instrument) being played while fitted with a mute
muted trumpet
Other Word Forms
- mutedly adverb
- unmuted adjective
Etymology
Origin of muted
Explanation
Something muted has a softened tone or quieted sound. When you try to listen through the wall at what someone is saying, it's really muted and mumbly, even if you put a glass to your ear. When you mute the TV or computer speakers, all of the sound goes quiet, but something described as muted is just toned down or turned down. When you whisper you speak in a muted voice; it's not completely quiet or no one would hear you, but it's quiet enough to muffle the sounds or secrets you share. Muted colors don’t stand out as much as bright ones. Beiges and soft grays are muted, and they're great for showing off bright contrasts like a turquoise scarf or red tie.
Vocabulary lists containing muted
The Cay
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Long Way Down
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Shhhh! Synonyms for "Quiet"
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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.
So their muted reactions Thursday might have been out of sensitivity, warranted or not, to not upset Stafford after drafting his heir apparent in the first round.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
Meanwhile, their home shirt is a rather muted affair.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
However, at RBC, the excitement surrounding any new energy drink was more muted.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026
The more muted services inflation was due to a pullback in margins for trade services, a metric that tracks the difference between selling prices and acquisition costs.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
They stared at the muted brown home, a tall chain-link fence rising up around it.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
