silent

[ sahy-luhnt ]

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.

noun

1. Usually silents. silent films.

silent

/ 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

noun

1. a silent film

silent

/ 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.

Derived Forms

• ˈsilentness, noun
• ˈsilently, adverb

Other Words From

• silent·ly adverb
• silent·ness noun
• over·silent adjective
• over·silent·ly adverb
• over·silent·ness noun
• super·silent adjective
• super·silent·ly adverb
• un·silent adjective
• un·silent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of silent¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of silent¹

C16: from Latin silēns, from silēre to be quiet

Synonym Study

See still ¹.

Example Sentences

He demanded to know where she was and what she was doing if she was silent too long.

From ProPublica

Richard is rarely as vicious as Emily can be — he’s more prone to silent lack of interest — but when he decides to talk, he can shut Lorelai up in a way Emily can never manage to do.

From Vox

The employees who saw him steal from the hospital stayed silent even as police began investigating.

From ProPublica

In private online forums they discuss their preferred lies for why their pretend call center seems so silent.

From ProPublica

Being small, generally silent creatures, they’re easy to miss.

From Popular-Science

By tradition, the speaker of the House never participates in debates in the House and remains silent.

From The Daily Beast

As we waited for my plane to come in, we stayed silent for a long time.

From The Daily Beast

And that gets to the heart of what makes the game so incredible: By staying silent, it turns the player into the game master.

From The Daily Beast

Many will simply stay away from crowds and stay home this Christmas Eve, which could be a very silent night indeed.

From The Daily Beast

The house was eerily silent on a Friday morning after a huge party.

From The Daily Beast

After a minute's pause, while he stood painfully silent, she resumed in great emotion.

From Project Gutenberg

Here began indeed, in the drab surroundings of the workshop, in the silent mystery of the laboratory, the magic of the new age.

From Project Gutenberg

The lovers got up, with only a silent protest, and walked slowly away somewhere else.

From Project Gutenberg

No; there I stood, half-astonished, half-abashed while the Marquise continued on her knees and made her silent orisons.

From Project Gutenberg

He was rather silent, they observed; but the young clergyman, who made the fourth at the table, was voluble by nature.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• hushed
• mum
• mute
• restrained
• reticent