mute
Americanadjective
-
silent; refraining from speech or utterance.
- Antonyms:
- talkative
-
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 phraseto stand mute ).
-
Fox Hunting. (of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.
noun
-
mutes
plural
-
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.
-
British Obsolete. a hired mourner at a funeral; a professional mourner.
verb (used with object)
-
mutes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
muted,
past participle, past
-
muting
present participle
-
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.
adjective
-
not giving out sound or speech; silent
-
unable to speak; dumb
-
unspoken or unexpressed
mute 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
-
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)
verb
noun
Sensitivity
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Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive and should be avoided.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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mutesimple
-
mutessimple
-
have mutedperfect
-
has mutedperfect
-
am mutingprogressive
-
are mutingprogressive
-
is mutingprogressive
-
have been mutingperfect progressive
-
has been mutingperfect progressive
Past
-
mutedsimple
-
had mutedperfect
-
was mutingprogressive
-
were mutingprogressive
-
had been mutingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see -et
Explanation
Mute means “silent.” No matter how much you talk to your houseplants, they’ll never talk back; they'll remain mute. When used as a noun, mute can mean “someone who isn't capable of speech" or “a device that deadens the sound of an instrument.” Mute can also be used as a verb meaning "to make silent.” One might mute the television by pressing a button on the remote, or one might try to mute a loquacious individual. Unfortunately, the technology for that last option doesn’t exist yet.
Vocabulary lists containing mute
Shhhh! Synonyms for "Quiet"
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Counting by 7s
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Kindred
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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.
See Examples For:
It’s kind of like a lot of folks might go into a restaurant or a bar with the TV tuned to a game, but on mute.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
Just enough context that the object isn’t mute anymore.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Children's profiles must be private by default with their location, camera and microphone turned off, and it should be easy for minors to block or mute users.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
His mute misadventures are the purest expression of animation’s freedom to do and draw anything.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Of the mute Singer, who was a righteous white man of understanding.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
There is a “school mode” that mutes notifications during school hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Warsh also noted that constant guidance from the Fed mutes useful information from private markets that are often better at assessing prevailing economic conditions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 19, 2026
Hydralazine acts by binding to and blocking ADO, which means it effectively "mutes" that oxygen alarm.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2025
The farmers and miners got to hear the most intoxicating music on Earth from brassy cornet players and driving saxophonists, exotic trombone mutes, squealing trumpets and sultry clarinets.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024
She picks the remote up and mutes it.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
Sidorov, turning to the French, winked, and began to jabber meaningless sounds very fast: "Kari, mala, tafa, safi, muter, Kaska," he said, trying to give an expressive intonation to his voice.
From War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Count
And muter than ever, pondering deeply, and secretly trembling in the queerest way, these two outwardly sedate young people returned to the Dower House....
From Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
In vain:—the song that Sappho gave, In dying, to the mournful sea, Not muter slept beneath the wave Than this within my memory.
From The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore Collected by Himself with Explanatory Notes by William Michael Rossetti
It troubled many more than King, but the members of the corps were muter than oysters.
From Stalky & Co. by Rudyard Kipling
With the exception of muter, these readings could have been recovered by conjecture; given the separative interpolation at iii 44, F differs surprisingly little from the other manuscripts.
From The Last Poems of Ovid by Mark Bear Akrigg
Particularly in these times, France wants her soldiers mute and professional, and the mutest and most professional is Maurice Gamelin.
From Time Magazine Archive
On these occasions my friend would listen to me with the mutest attention.
From Arthur Mervyn Or, Memoirs of the Year 1793 by Charles Brockden Brown
I name for instance, just to hover a little, silent Vanderpool, the mutest presence at the Upham board, and quite with no sense of the invidious in so doing.
From Notes of a Son and Brother by Henry James
Not I, Inclin'd to this intelligence, pronounce The beggary of his change; but 'tis your graces That from my mutest conscience to my tongue Charms this report out.
From Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
And himselfe, not I Inclin'd to this intelligence, pronounce The Beggery of his change: but 'tis your Graces That from my mutest Conscience, to my tongue, Charmes this report out Imo.
From Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
The increase in Treasury yields muted the lift in consumer-facing industries from the jobs data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The outfit was hideous, sticking out like a sore thumb amid everyone else’s muted festive wear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Nvidia’s stock has risen 14% this year — barely more than the S&P 500, and a relatively muted move in light of the big artificial-intelligence gains elsewhere in the market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
The chancellor has been seeking to regain some of his lost momentum by demonstrating Germany's appeal to investors and bolstering the muted economic recovery.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
She's still holding the remote in her hand, even though she's muted whatever reality TV show she was watching.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
US oil giants reported lower earnings Friday with accounting effects muting the benefits of the Middle East oil shock, as ExxonMobil's CEO cautioned that crude prices could still increase.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
The limited age range for super catch-up contributions may be muting the benefit, according to Miklos Ringbauer, founder and principal of MiklosCPA, an accounting and tax-strategy firm.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
Teen accounts have also been restricted to include direct messaging only with people they follow or are already connected to and automatic muting during nighttime hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2025
Ferrera knew her job was “to bring dimensions and layers” to her characters while muting the persistent commentary that “this is different.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2024
The moon above spread its light generously, muting the ruins and wreckage.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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