mute

[ myoot ]

/ myut /

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See synonyms for: mute / muted / mutely / muteness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, mut·er, mut·est.

silent; refraining from speech or utterance.

not emitting or having sound of any kind.

incapable of speech (offensive when applied to humans): Animals are mute and are only able to speak in fairy tales and fables.

(of letters) silent; not pronounced: The mute “e” in the word “dime” makes the preceding vowel long, so it is not pronounced like “dim.”

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 phrase to stand mute).

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

noun

Offensive. a person incapable of speech.

an actor whose part is confined to dumb show.

Law. a person who stands mute when arraigned.

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

Phonetics. (especially in older use) stop (def. 34b).

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

verb (used with object), mut·ed, mut·ing.

to deaden or muffle the sound of: The music was a little muted by distance and the trees.

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.

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

to soften or subdue; moderate: His happiness about returning to the United States was muted by his concern for the other hostages.

OPPOSITES FOR mute

1 talkative.

See antonyms for mute on Thesaurus.com

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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”; see -et

usage note for mute

See dumb.

OTHER WORDS FROM mute

mute·ly, adverbmute·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mute

moot, mute

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use mute in a sentence

It essentially gives you a dashboard of buttons you can use to conveniently control functions on Windows, like muting the volume, grabbing a screenshot, launching an application, switching between video inputs, and pausing media playback.
How to completely customize the way you control Windows|David Nield|January 15, 2021|Popular-Science
Whatever the case, TV sets need a brand-new “hypocrisy-mute” button for Fox News commentators who express umbrage at the Capitol riot.
Newt Gingrich’s blatant hypocrisy|Erik Wemple|January 11, 2021|Washington Post
In Successful Aging he details the effects of aging on this too solid flesh, from cell function to motor actions to sleep patterns, and prescribes ways of living to mute the insults of growing old.
Outwitting the Grim Reaper - Issue 94: Evolving|Kevin Berger|December 23, 2020|Nautilus
Group Zoom calls, in which half the team is on mute or have turned off their cameras, also make it challenging to pick up on body language.
Remote working spotlights neurodiversity challenges|Jessica Davies|December 21, 2020|Digiday

That can do a lot of good, but with cultural strife at 2020 levels, bickering will undoubtedly infect your feed no matter how many words you mute and people you unfollow.
Social media can be toxic. Here’s how to make sure your feeds aren’t.|Whitson Gordon|December 1, 2020|Popular-Science
In recent days it has been again devastated by the great world war, as its gaunt ruins mutely tell.
The Doctor of Pimlico|William Le Queux
All this time Clifford was mutely wondering why the wealthy old ranchman should be so anxious to meet his father.
A Fortune Hunter; Or, The Old Stone Corral|John Dunloe Carteret
He leaned over and sought those unresponsive lips that, mutely cold, met his.
Sinister Street, vol. 1|Compton Mackenzie
Presently a manservant entered and, bowing, indicated mutely that his master would see her now.
Those Times And These|Irvin S. Cobb
As Scott and Elderburg passed a group of the black gang, mutely dangling wrenches, there was a sudden stir.
Feline Red|Robert Sampson

British Dictionary definitions for mute (1 of 2)

mute¹

/ (mjuːt) /

adjective

not giving out sound or speech; silent

unable to speak; dumb

unspoken or unexpressedmute dislike

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

phonetics another word for plosive

(of a letter in a word) silent

noun

a person who is unable to speak

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

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

phonetics a plosive consonant; stop

a silent letter

an actor in a dumb show

a hired mourner at a funeral

verb (tr)

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

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

Derived forms of mute

mutely, adverbmuteness, noun

Word Origin for mute

C14: muwet from Old French mu, from Latin mūtus silent

usage for mute

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

British Dictionary definitions for mute (2 of 2)

mute²

/ (mjuːt) archaic /

verb

(of birds) to discharge (faeces)

noun

birds' faeces

Word Origin for mute

C15: from Old French meutir, variant of esmeltir, of Germanic origin; probably related to smelt 1 and melt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for mute

mute

[ myōōt ]

adj.

Unable or unwilling to speak.

One who does not have the faculty of speech. No longer in technical use; considered offensive.

mute

OPPOSITES FOR mute

Origin of mute

usage note for mute

OTHER WORDS FROM mute

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mute

Words related to mute

How to use mute in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mute (1 of 2)

Derived forms of mute

Word Origin for mute

usage for mute

British Dictionary definitions for mute (2 of 2)

Word Origin for mute

Medical definitions for mute