taciturnity
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being reserved or reticent in conversation.
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Scots Law. the relinquishing of a legal right through an unduly long delay, as by the silence of the creditor.
Etymology
Origin of taciturnity
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin taciturnitās, equivalent to taciturn ( us ) taciturn + -itās -ity
Explanation
If you comment on your best friend's taciturnity, it means that he is usually very quiet and reserved. Use the noun taciturnity to describe the quality of people who don't reveal much information. A person's taciturnity might be a result of her shyness, her dislike of gossip and idle chatter, or her bad case of laryngitis. The Latin root of taciturnity is taciturnitatem, "a being or keeping silent," and it in turn comes from the Latin word for "silent," tacitus.
Vocabulary lists containing taciturnity
Ethan Frome
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East of Eden
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Oedipus the King
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their matter-of-factness and taciturnity were traits he tried to emulate.
From Washington Post • Feb. 2, 2023
What set him apart, aside from his keen intellect, taciturnity and gifts as a writer, was his ferocious loyalty.
From Fox News • Dec. 10, 2018
In the world down below, in that New England I’d left behind, where tam o’ shanter taciturnity ruled the day, this sort of demonstrative celebration might have been regarded as alien and untoward.
From The New Yorker • Jul. 5, 2016
But I can feel the taciturnity of adolescence emerging.
From Slate • May 6, 2016
The natural New England taciturnity reaches its glorious perfection at breakfast.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
