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

Sen. Chuck Grassley reportedly fell completely silent when confronted with questions about the nom.

From Salon

Pancreatic cancer, known as the “silent killer,” is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths and accounted for 8% of cancer deaths this year, according to statistics from the National Institutes of Health.

From Los Angeles Times

Phones cannot be on silent or vibration settings, he said.

From Los Angeles Times

"I applaud Justin Welby for resigning but what I think the survivor group would like is more resignations because that means more accountability, people taking responsibility for having been silent when they should have spoken," he said.

From BBC

During those 24 hours they observe 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets over their silent blue planet, spinning past continents and cycling past seasons, taking in glaciers and deserts, the peaks of mountains and the swells of oceans.

From BBC

Related Words

• hushed
• mum
• mute
• restrained
• reticent