quiet

[ kwahy-it ]

/ ˈkwaɪ ɪt /

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adjective, qui·et·er, qui·et·est.

making no noise or sound, especially no disturbing sound: quiet neighbors.

free, or comparatively free, from noise: a quiet street.

silent: Be quiet!

restrained in speech, manner, etc.; saying little: a quiet person.

free from disturbance or tumult; tranquil; peaceful: a quiet life.

being at rest.

refraining or free from activity, especially busy or vigorous activity: a quiet Sunday afternoon.

making no disturbance or trouble; not turbulent; peaceable: The factions remained quiet for twenty years.

motionless or moving very gently: quiet waters.

free from disturbing thoughts, emotions, etc.; mentally peaceful: a quiet conscience.

said, expressed, done, etc., in a restrained or unobtrusive way: a quiet reproach; a quiet admonition.

not showy or obtrusive; subdued: quiet colors.

not busy or active: The stock market was quiet last week.

verb (used with object)

to make quiet.

to make tranquil or peaceful; pacify: to quiet a crying baby.

to calm mentally, as a person.

to allay (tumult, doubt, fear, etc.).

to silence.

verb (used without object)

to become quiet (often followed by down).

Nearby words

quiesce, quiescence, quiescent, quiescent tank, quiescently, quiet, quiet as a mouse, quiet lung, quiet revolution, quiet sun, quieten

Origin of quiet

1350–1400; (adj.) Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere (see quiescent); (v.) Middle English quieten, partly derivative of the adj., partly < Late Latin quiētāre, derivative of quiētus. Cf. coy

SYNONYMS FOR quiet

5 calm, serene.

9 unmoving.

14 still, hush, silence.

15, 17 lull, soothe.

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ANTONYMS FOR quiet

2 noisy.

5 perturbed.

9 active.

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Related forms

qui·et·er, nounqui·et·ly, adverbqui·et·ness, nounun·qui·et·ed, adjective

un·qui·et·ing, adjective

Can be confusedquiescent quietquiet quit quitequietness quietude

Synonym study

2. See still¹.

Definition for quiet (2 of 2)

quiet

[ kwahy-it ]

/ ˈkwaɪ ɪt /

noun

freedom from noise, unwanted sound, etc.: At least there's quiet here.

freedom from disturbance or tumult; tranquillity; rest; repose: to live in quiet.

peace; peaceful condition of affairs.

Origin of quiet

1300–50; Middle English quiet(e) (< Middle French quiete) < Latin quiēt- (stem of quiēs) rest, peace; akin to quiēscere (see quiescent)

SYNONYMS FOR quiet

1 silence.

2 calm, stillness.

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ANTONYMS FOR quiet

1 noise.

2 disturbance.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for quiet

What, I suspect, we really want from Santa is peace (and quiet) at home for the holidays.
Santa Fails One More Time|P. J. O’Rourke|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But shh shhh shh, you have to be quiet about it or they will make me take it off.
A Field General in the War on Christmas|David Freedlander|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were stares, gestures, and quiet conversations at the desk.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then he's quiet, while I, nonplussed, just stare until he adds, “The camera must never move.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He said he uses the quiet time at night to ponder a move to Puerto Rico or maybe Hawaii.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired.|David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mary had contrived to quiet her lover with considerable propriety of demeanour.
Doctor Thorne|Anthony Trollope
She closed up the house for the night, looking out in the bright moonlight to see that all was quiet.
The Precipice|Elia Wilkinson Peattie
Taking his arm he drew him into a quiet place and told him all that had happened since they had last met.
The Crimson Fairy Book|Various
The Catholics, he reported, were quiet merely because they were confident of success.
William Pitt and the Great War|John Holland Rose
Calm and quiet when danger raged, he could inspire in his comrades a boundless confidence.
The Heart of Pinocchio|Collodi Nipote

British Dictionary definitions for quiet

quiet

/ (ˈkwaɪət) /

adjective

characterized by an absence or near absence of noisea quiet street

characterized by an absence of turbulent motion or disturbance; peaceful, calm, or tranquila quiet glade; the sea is quiet tonight

free from activities, distractions, worries, etc; untroubleda quiet life; a quiet day at work

marked by an absence of work, orders, etc; not busythe factory is very quiet at the moment

private; not public; secreta quiet word with someone

free from anger, impatience, or other extreme emotiona quiet disposition

free from pretentiousness or vain display; modest or reservedquiet humour

astronomy (of the sun) exhibiting a very low number of sunspots, solar flares, and other surface phenomena; inactiveCompare active (def. 8)

noun

the state of being silent, peaceful, or untroubled

on the quiet without other people knowing; secretly

verb

a less common word for quieten

Derived Formsquietness, noun

Word Origin for quiet

C14: from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere to rest, from quiēs repose, rest

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

Word Origin and History for quiet (1 of 3)

quiet

c.1300, "freedom from disturbance or conflict; calm, stillness," from Old French quiete "rest, repose, tranquility" and directly from Latin quies (genitive quietis) "a lying still, rest, repose, peace," from PIE root *qwi- "rest" (cf. Old Persian shiyati-, Avestan shaiti- "well-being;" Avestan shyata- "happy;" Gothic hveila, Old English hwil "space of time;" see while (n.)). Late 14c. as "inactivity, rest, repose."

Word Origin and History for quiet (1 of 3)

quiet

adj.

late 14c., "peaceable, at rest, restful, tranquil," from Old French quiet and directly from Latin quietus "calm, at rest, free from exertion," from quies (genitive quietis) "rest" (see quiet (n.)). As an adverb from 1570s. Related: Quietly; quietness.

Word Origin and History for quiet (2 of 3)

quiet

late 14c., "subdue, lessen," from quiet (adj.) and in part from Latin quietare. From mid-15c. as "to make silent, cause to be quiet;" intransitive sense of "become quiet, be silent" is from 1791. Related: Quieted; quieting.

Idioms and Phrases with quiet

quiet

In addition to the idiom beginning with quiet

quiet as a mouse

also see:

keep quiet
peace and quiet

quiet

adjective, qui·et·er, qui·et·est.

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of quiet

Synonym study

Definition for quiet (2 of 2)

quiet

noun

Origin of quiet

Examples from the Web for quiet

British Dictionary definitions for quiet

quiet

adjective

noun

verb

Word Origin for quiet

Word Origin and History for quiet (1 of 3)

quiet

Word Origin and History for quiet (1 of 3)

quiet

Word Origin and History for quiet (2 of 3)

quiet

Idioms and Phrases with quiet

quiet