silent

American  

[sahy-luhnt] / ˈsaɪ lənt /

adjective

1. making no sound; quiet; still.

   a silent motor.

   Synonyms:

   soundless

   Antonyms:

   noisy

2. refraining from speech.

3. speechless; mute.

4. not inclined to speak; taciturn; reticent.

   Antonyms:

   talkative

5. characterized by absence of speech or sound.

   a silent prayer.

6. unspoken; tacit.

   a silent assent.

7. omitting mention of something, as in a narrative.

   The records are silent about this crime.

8. inactive or quiescent, as a volcano.

   Synonyms:

   dormant

9. not sounded or pronounced.

   The “b” in “doubt” is a silent letter.

10. Movies. not having spoken dialogue or a soundtrack.

11. Medicine/Medical. producing no symptoms.

    silent gallstones.

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noun

1. Usually silents. silent films.

silent British  

/ ˈsaɪlənt /

adjective

1. characterized by an absence or near absence of noise or sound

   a silent house

2. tending to speak very little or not at all

3. unable to speak

4. failing to speak, communicate, etc, when expected

   the witness chose to remain silent

5. not spoken or expressed

   silent assent

6. not active or in operation

   a silent volcano

7. (of a letter) used in the conventional orthography of a word but no longer pronounced in that word

   the ``k'' in ``know'' is silent

8. denoting a film that has no accompanying soundtrack, esp one made before 1927, when such soundtracks were developed

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noun

1. a silent film

silent Scientific  

/ sī′lənt /

1. Relating to a mutation that changes a nucleotide in a codon without a difference in the amino acid for which it is coded.

2. See more at point mutation

3. Producing no detectable signs or symptoms, as a medical condition such as heart attack.

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Related Words

See still ¹.

Other Word Forms

• oversilent adjective
• oversilently adverb
• oversilentness noun
• silently adverb
• silentness noun
• supersilent adjective
• supersilently adverb
• unsilent adjective
• unsilently adverb

Etymology

Origin of silent

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin silent-, stem of silēns “being quiet,” present participle of silēre “to be quiet”; akin to Old English sālnes “silence”

Example Sentences

This packaging plays a critical role in determining which genes are active and which remain silent.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

“No, I think I’ll keep her,” he said, as Leavitt chittered nervously off-camera, before falling silent.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

"Suddenly everything just falls silent and the Pope just walks around the corner," Clark says, explaining a "sense of calmness" overcame him.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

“It was a ghost town. It felt awkward for the people attending, because it was so silent and empty... We were just as in the dark about the event as the attendees were.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

“Pos-i-lute.ly.” Anna May’s voice was quite deep, but the tone was light, frivolous, different from what I’d imagined when I’d seen her on the silent screen.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• hushed
• mum
• mute
• restrained
• reticent