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silent

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silent¹

  • /ˈsaɪ̯lənt/
  • [ˈsaɪ̯lənt] ~ [ˈsaɪ̯ln̩t]
  • /ˈsaːlənt/
  • [ˈsaːlənt] ~ [ˈsaːln̩t]

Rhymes with -aɪlənt

Where it comes from

From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).

adjective silenter · more silent · silentest · most silent · scilent

  1. Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet. How silent is this town!

    Similar: quiet

  2. Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative. Ulysses, adds he, was the most eloquent and most silent of men.

    Similar: speechless, dumb

  3. Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed. The winds were silent, all the waves asleep, / And heaven was trac'd upon the flattering deep

    Similar: dormant

  4. Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent. The e is silent in fable.

    Similar: mute, quiescent, servile

  5. Having no effect; not operating; inefficient. Cause […] silent, virtueless, and dead.
  6. With the sound turned off; usually on silent or in silent mode. My phone was on silent.
  7. Without audio capability. The Magnavox Odyssey was a silent console.
  8. Hidden, unseen. a silent voter; a silent partner

    Similar: concealed

  9. Of an edit or change to a text, not explicitly acknowledged. silent revisions; a silent emendation
  10. Not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence.
  11. Undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms.
  12. Of distilled spirit: having no flavour or odour.

Similar: taciturn, mute, still, invisible, occluded, silent, silential, noiseless, soundless · Opposite: loud, noisy, unsilent, nonsilent

noun silents · scilent

  1. uncountable That which is silent; a time of silence. Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night.
  2. A silent movie More than 40 films will be shown spanning the past seventy-five years, including early silents and talkies, contemporary productions, foreign and American films, documentaries, underground works and television shows.

SILENT²

noun

  1. abbreviation, acronym, uncountable Acronym of syndrome of irreversible lithium-effectuated neurotoxicity

Silent³

noun Silents

  1. in plural A member of the Silent Generation. From Ali (technically a Silent who was born in 1942), to Tommie Smith's medal-stand protest, to Joe Namath's Super Bowl prediction to the hair-raising Oakland A's and the raucous Bronx Zoo Yankees of the 1970s, to the outbursts of Connors and McEnroe on the tennis court, to King's tireless push for

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: quiet, still, mute, tacit, inaudible, uncommunicative, dumb, inarticulate, unarticulate, incommunicative, unhearable, unsounded, soundless, inexplicit, implicit, implied

adjective

Similar: taciturn, mute, still, invisible, occluded, silent, silential, noiseless, soundless · Opposite: loud, noisy, unsilent, nonsilent

Translations

Every language

adj free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet

Españolsilencioso, callar, silente
한국어조용하다 joyonghada
日本語静かな shizuka na, 無音の muon no
中文安靜 /安静 ānjìng, 恬靜 /恬静 tiánjìng
हिन्दीचुप cup, ख़ामोश xāmoś
Portuguêssilencioso
Françaissilencieux, se taire
Deutschstill, schweigen
Italianosilenzioso
Ελληνικάαθόρυβος athóryvos
Românăliniștit
Русскийти́хий tíxij, молча́ть molčátʹ
Tiếng Việtyên lặng
العربيةصَامِت ṣāmit, سَاكِت sākit

adj not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn

日本語黙っている damatte iru, 無言の mugon no
中文沉默 chénmò, 緘默 /缄默 jiānmò
हिन्दीचुप cup
Portuguêssilencioso, quieto
Françaissilencieux, muet
Deutschschweigsam
Italianomuto, silenzioso
Românătăcut
Русскиймолчали́вый molčalívyj, безмо́лвный bezmólvnyj
Tiếng Việtlặng lẽ, câm lặng

adj keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed

Deutschstill
Italianosilente, tranquillo

adj not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent

Portuguêssilencioso
Françaismuet
Deutschstumm
Ελληνικάαθόρυβος athóryvos
Românăsilențios
Русскийнепроизноси́мый neproiznosímyj, немо́й nemój

adj in silent mode, on silent, with the sound turned off

Deutschlautlos, leise, stumm
Русскийбеззву́чный bezzvúčnyj

adj without audio capability

Portuguêsmudo
Italianomuto, silenzioso

adj not implying significant modifications which would affect a peptide sequence

Españolsilencioso
Portuguêssilencioso
Françaissilencieux
Italianosilenzioso

adj undiagnosed or undetected because of an absence of symptoms

Españolsilencioso
Portuguêssilencioso
Françaissilencieux
Italianosilenzioso

noun that which is silent

Portuguêssilêncio
Italianosilenzio

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Cite this
MLA

"silent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/silent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

silent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/silent

Chicago

"silent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/silent.

BibTeX
@misc{silent_2026,
  title = {silent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/silent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}