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

It struck me during one more endless silent night alone on the couch that there was no good reason for me to live in this big old house by myself.

From Los Angeles Times

A friend urges her to stay silent and not malign the “rich people” who caused her so much grief.

From Los Angeles Times

“If we stay silent, preventable diseases will return — as we saw with the largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years, which tragically killed two children.”

From Los Angeles Times

“In the after, I was broken, shattered, and silent. ... I became nothing.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Nowhere Is Where” is silent but lethal, Price’s gorgeously textured voice over an acoustic guitar, small harmonies on the chorus, an upright bass over in the corner, a fiddle underscoring the anguish.

From Salon

Related Words

• hushed 
• mum 
• mute 
• restrained 
• reticent