mute

American  

[myoot] / mjut /

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

• mutes
  plural

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)

• mutes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• muted,
  past participle,  past
• muting
  present participle

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

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

• muteness
  noun
• mutely
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mutes
  plural

Participles

• muting
  present
• muted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mute
  simple
• mutes
  simple
• have muted
  perfect
• has muted
  perfect
• am muting
  progressive
• are muting
  progressive
• is muting
  progressive
• have been muting
  perfect progressive
• has been muting
  perfect progressive

Past

• muted
  simple
• had muted
  perfect
• was muting
  progressive
• were muting
  progressive
• had been muting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mute
  simple
• will have muted
  perfect
• will be muting
  progressive
• will have been muting
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mute mutes muter mutest muted muting

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

That the mute infant art form soon relied on fashions that excited the eye should come as no surprise.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Just enough context that the object isn’t mute anymore.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

As part of the settlement, Meta said it would impose time limits and mute notifications during certain hours for teens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Or cutting their conversations whenever he walked by, like he was some kind of human mute button.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds

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

Belén mutes the TV, and we all stare at each other, confused.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

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

At xiv 7 it has the probably correct muter for mittar, also found in Bodleianus Canon. lat.

From The Last Poems of Ovid by Mark Bear Akrigg

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

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

The flying meteors backward glance On thee to gaze, And bright auroras softly dance In mutest praise; And, to and fro, With motion slow Wave the lamps whence colors flow.

From The Arctic Queen by Unknown

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

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

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 outfit was hideous, sticking out like a sore thumb amid everyone else’s muted festive wear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

But for now, the criticism remains relatively muted.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

The Journal’s official response was muted appreciation for the ruling, and this editorial isn’t meant to spike the football.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 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

All sounds were muted, as if I had a wad of thick cotton in both ears or was shut up in a padded closet.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Strout’s narrative also flashes forward at times, muting suspense, revealing more than we might wish.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026

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

To make it a full month without buying, Piper suggests muting and unfollowing anything that encourages spending, like marketing emails or Instagram accounts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 21, 2026

She clapped her hands together, the gloves muting the normal pop.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

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Related Words

• dampen
• soften
• subdue

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