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silent

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
si·lent  (slnt)
adj.
1. Marked by absence of noise or sound; still.
2. Not inclined to speak; not talkative.
3. Unable to speak.
4. Refraining from speech: Do be silent.
5. Not voiced or expressed; unspoken: a silent curse; silent consent.
6. Inactive; quiescent: a silent volcano.
7. Linguistics Having no phonetic value; unpronounced: the silent b in subtle.
8. Having no spoken dialogue and usually no soundtrack. Used of a film.
9. Producing no detectable signs or symptoms: a silent heart attack.
n.
A silent movie.

[Latin silns, silent-, present participle of silre, to be silent.]

silent·ly adv.
silent·ness n.
Synonyms: silent, reticent, reserved, taciturn, laconic, secretive, uncommunicative, tightlipped
These adjectives describe people who are sparing with speech. Silent often implies a habitual disinclination to speak or to speak out: "The coroner was a very silent man" Mary Roberts Rinehart.
The term may also mean refraining from speech, as out of fear or confusion: "The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent" Earl Warren.
Reticent suggests a reluctance to share one's thoughts and feelings: "She had been shy and reticent with me, and now . . . she was telling me aloud the secrets of her inmost heart" W.H. Hudson.
Reserved suggests aloofness and reticence: "a reserved man, whose inner life was intense and sufficient to him" Arnold Bennett.
Taciturn implies unsociableness and a tendency to speak only when it is absolutely necessary: "At the Council board he was taciturn; and in the House of Lords he never opened his lips" Thomas Macaulay.
Laconic denotes terseness or conciseness in expression, but when applied to people it often implies an unwillingness to use words: "Mountain dwellers and mountain lovers are a laconic tribe. They know the futility of words" Edna Ferber.
Secretive implies a lack of openness about or even concealment of matters that could in all conscience be discussed: was secretive about my vacation plans.
Uncommunicative suggests a disposition to withhold opinions, feelings, or knowledge from others: an uncommunicative witness.
Tightlipped strongly implies a steadfast unwillingness to divulge information being sought: remained tightlipped when asked about her personal life. See Also Synonyms at still1.

silent
Adjective
1. tending to speak very little
2. failing to speak or communicate when expected: they remained silent as minutes passed
3. producing no noise: the silent room
4. not spoken: silent reproach
5. (of a letter) used in the spelling of a word but not pronounced, such as the k in know
6. (of a film) having no soundtrack [Latin silere to be quiet]
silently adv

silent  (slnt)
1. Relating to a mutation that changes a nucleotide in a codon without a difference in the amino acid for which it is coded. See more at point mutation.
2. Producing no detectable signs or symptoms, as a medical condition such as heart attack.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.silent - marked by absence of sound; "a silent house"; "soundless footsteps on the grass"; "the night was still"
quiet - free of noise or uproar; or making little if any sound; "a quiet audience at the concert"; "the room was dark and quiet"
2.silent - failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to; "the witness remained silent"
incommunicative, uncommunicative - not inclined to talk or give information or express opinions
3.silentsilent - implied by or inferred from actions or statements; "gave silent consent"; "a tacit agreement"; "the understood provisos of a custody agreement"
implicit, inexplicit - implied though not directly expressed; inherent in the nature of something; "an implicit agreement not to raise the subject"; "there was implicit criticism in his voice"; "anger was implicit in the argument"; "the oak is implicit in the acorn"
4.silent - not made to sound; "the silent `h' at the beginning of `honor'"; "in French certain letters are often unsounded"
inaudible, unhearable - impossible to hear; imperceptible by the ear; "an inaudible conversation"
5.silent - having a frequency below or above the range of human audibility; "a silent dog whistle"
inaudible, unhearable - impossible to hear; imperceptible by the ear; "an inaudible conversation"
6.silent - unable to speak because of hereditary deafness
inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry"

silent
adjective 1. mute, dumb, speechless, wordless, mum, struck dumb, voiceless, unspeaking << OPPOSITE noisy
adjective 2. uncommunicative, quiet, taciturn, tongue-tied, unspeaking, nonvocal, not talkative
adjective 3. quiet, still, hushed, soundless, noiseless, muted, stilly (poetic) << OPPOSITE loud
Translations

silent [ˈsaɪlnt] adj (gen) → silencioso (= not speaking); callado; [film] → mudo;
to keep or remain silent → guardar silencio
silent [ˈsaɪlnt] adjsilencieux/euse; [film] → muet(te);
to keep or remain silent → garder le silence, ne rien dire
silent [ˈsaɪlənt] adjstill;
(machine) → ruhig;
silent film → Stummfilm m;
to remain silent → still bleiben;
(about sth) → sich nicht äußern
silent [ˈsaɪlnt] adjsilenzioso/a; [film] → muto/a;
to keep or remain silent → tacere, stare zitto/a


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And this noisiness, this exultation at the moment of the ship's departure, make a tremendous contrast to the silent moments of her arrival in a foreign roadstead - the silent moments when, stripped of her sails, she forges ahead to her chosen berth, the loose canvas fluttering softly in the gear above the heads of the men standing still upon her decks, the master gazing intently forward from the break of the poop.
Save for such, that big area of common was silent and desolate, and the charred bodies lay about on it all night under the stars, and all the next day.
Denham found himself sitting silent, rejecting possible things to say, beside Katharine, who was silent too.
 
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