mute

[ myoot ]

/ myut /

Save This Word!

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

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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

As Fresno officials would later allege, he had made the girl wear a long-haired wig at the Fresno airport, and to act as if she had a disability and was mute so she wouldn’t speak with anyone else.
With children stuck at home during coronavirus shutdowns, online sexual predators can swoop in|Dan Morse|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
The smart bet on the SEC historically has been, name the issue, and the response will be muted.
GameStop frenzy leaves behind a mess for Wall Street regulators|Tory Newmyer, David J. Lynch|February 3, 2021|Washington Post
I mean, I am who I am, but I’ve kept a part of me muted, and it’s been stifling.
T.J. Osborne Is Ready to Tell His Story|Sam Lansky|February 3, 2021|Time
The way the program works is that people log on at noon, put their devices on mute and belt out the song picked by the musician that day.
The incredible story of how 1,700 handwritten cards came from across the world for a group of D.C. hospital workers|Theresa Vargas|January 27, 2021|Washington Post

More than anything else, their noise-cancelling quality is excellent, muting lower-frequency rumbles and, to a lesser-but-still-impressive extent, higher-pitched tones alike.
Sony’s best noise-cancelling headphones are down to their lowest price today|Ars Staff|January 26, 2021|Ars Technica
Joel Osteen wants to talk about muting your cell phone at the dinner table.
No Gods, No Cops, No Masters|James Poulos|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Great eyebrows overhung his face, like ivy on a pollard oak, and under them two large brown eyes, as of an owl when muting.
Lorna Doone|R. D. Blackmore
Though there was no cottony mist as had enclosed them the night before, there was an odd muting of sea and sky, limiting vision.
Key Out of Time|Andre Alice Norton
A continuous mute is a strip of muting felt of the proper thickness to be pushed in between the trios of strings.
Piano Tuning|J. Cree Fischer

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