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. 2023

How to use mute in a sentence

Never did muter silence fall upon a talking group, than the sight of this matchless chapel brought on us.
Paris and the Parisians in 1835 (Vol. 2 of 2)|Frances Trollope
Hir begegnet Christus seiner wirdigen lieben Muter die vor grossem hertzenleit anmechtig ward.
The Story of Nuremberg|Cecil Headlam
This is then evaporated to a small bulk, placed in a Muter's graduated tube, and acidified with mineral acid.
The Handbook of Soap Manufacture|W. H. Simmons
It troubled many more than King, but the members of the corps were muter than oysters.
Stalky & Co.|Rudyard Kipling

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

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