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silent

[ sahy-luhnt ]

/ ˈsaɪ lənt /

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See synonyms for: silent / silents / silently on Thesaurus.com

adjective

making no sound; quiet; still: a silent motor.

refraining from speech.

speechless; mute.

not inclined to speak; taciturn; reticent.

characterized by absence of speech or sound: a silent prayer.

unspoken; tacit: a silent assent.

omitting mention of something, as in a narrative: The records are silent about this crime.

inactive or quiescent, as a volcano.

not sounded or pronounced: The “b” in “doubt” is a silent letter.

Movies. not having spoken dialogue or a soundtrack.

Medicine/Medical. producing no symptoms: silent gallstones.

noun

Usually silents. silent films.

OTHER WORDS FOR silent

See synonyms for silent on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR silent

1 noisy.

See antonyms for silent on Thesaurus.com

VIDEO FOR SILENT

What Are 5 Words To Describe The Silent Generation?

The Silent Generation is the generation born between 1925–1945. Here are the words they think describe their generation.

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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 silent

1555–65; <Latin silent- (stem of silēns), present participle of silēre to be quiet; see -ent

synonym study for silent

1. See still¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM silent

si·lent·ly, adverbsi·lent·ness, nouno·ver·si·lent, adjectiveo·ver·si·lent·ly, adverb

o·ver·si·lent·ness, nounsu·per·si·lent, adjectivesu·per·si·lent·ly, adverbun·si·lent, adjectiveun·si·lent·ly, adverb

Words nearby silent

silenced, Silence is golden, silencer, silene, Silenos, silent, silent alarm, silent auction, silent barter, silent butler, silent cop

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use silent in a sentence

He demanded to know where she was and what she was doing if she was silent too long.
She Was Afraid of Her Lawyer. Then the Text Messages Started.|by Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor|October 8, 2020|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.
Every episode of Gilmore Girls, ranked|Constance Grady|October 6, 2020|Vox
The employees who saw him steal from the hospital stayed silent even as police began investigating.
Maine Hires Lawyers With Criminal Records to Defend Its Poorest Residents|by Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor, with data analysis by Agnel Philip|October 6, 2020|ProPublica
In private online forums they discuss their preferred lies for why their pretend call center seems so silent.
Meet the Customer Service Reps for Disney and Airbnb Who Have to Pay to Talk to You|by Ken Armstrong, Justin Elliott and Ariana Tobin|October 2, 2020|ProPublica

Being small, generally silent creatures, they’re easy to miss.
What hundreds of pickled frog carcasses can tell us about their enormous eyes|María Paula Rubiano A.|October 1, 2020|Popular-Science
By tradition, the speaker of the House never participates in debates in the House and remains silent.
The YOLO Caucus' New Cry for Attention|Ben Jacobs|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As we waited for my plane to come in, we stayed silent for a long time.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|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.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Many will simply stay away from crowds and stay home this Christmas Eve, which could be a very silent night indeed.
France’s Wave of Crazy-Terror Christmas Attacks|Christopher Dickey|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The house was eerily silent on a Friday morning after a huge party.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After a minute's pause, while he stood painfully silent, she resumed in great emotion.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
Here began indeed, in the drab surroundings of the workshop, in the silent mystery of the laboratory, the magic of the new age.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
The lovers got up, with only a silent protest, and walked slowly away somewhere else.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
No; there I stood, half-astonished, half-abashed while the Marquise continued on her knees and made her silent orisons.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
He was rather silent, they observed; but the young clergyman, who made the fourth at the table, was voluble by nature.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for silent

silent

/ (ˈsaɪlənt) /

adjective

characterized by an absence or near absence of noise or sounda silent house

tending to speak very little or not at all

unable to speak

failing to speak, communicate, etc, when expectedthe witness chose to remain silent

not spoken or expressedsilent assent

not active or in operationa silent volcano

(of a letter) used in the conventional orthography of a word but no longer pronounced in that wordthe ``k'' in ``know'' is silent

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

noun

a silent film

Derived forms of silent

silently, adverbsilentness, noun

Word Origin for silent

C16: from Latin silēns, from silēre to be quiet

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

Scientific definitions for silent

silent

[ sī′lənt ]

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

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

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.