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

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.

Other Word Forms

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

At the start of November each year, the Families of the Disappeared hold a silent walk in the grounds of Stormont and lay a wreath at the steps of Parliament Buildings.

Read more on BBC

“If the Muslim world remains silent as Palestinians face extermination,” he said in a speech in March, “it will only embolden America and Israel to commit further atrocities.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Ms Marriot says there were police and ambulances everywhere but "the atmosphere was silent" at the station, which is on the southern edge of the Cambridgeshire town.

Read more on BBC

The arena fell silent for a deeply poignant tribute before the fight as 10 bells rang in memory of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in September.

Read more on BBC

After a moment of awkward silence, another man emerged to announce: “The maestro hears voices in the hall. Please try to keep silent. Thank you.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• hushed 
• mum 
• mute 
• restrained 
• reticent