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silent

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.02 sec.
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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 (ˈsaɪlənt)
adj
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. (Phonetics & Phonology) (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. (Film) denoting a film that has no accompanying soundtrack, esp one made before 1927, when such soundtracks were developed
n
9. (Film) a silent film
[C16: from Latin silēns, from silēre to be quiet]
ˈsilently adv ˈsilentness n
si•lent (ˈsaɪ lənt)

adj.
1. making no sound; quiet; still.
2. refraining from speech.
3. speechless; mute.
4. not inclined to speak.
5. characterized by absence of speech or sound: silent prayers.
6. unspoken; tacit: a silent assent.
7. omitting mention of something, as in a narrative: The records are silent about his crime.
8. inactive or quiescent, as a volcano.
9. (of a letter) not pronounced, as the b in doubt.
10. (of a film) not having a soundtrack.
11. producing no detectable symptoms: silent heart irregularities.
n.
12. Usu., silents. silent films.
[1555–65; < Latin silent-, s. of silēns, present participle of silēre to be quiet; see -ent]
si′lent•ly, 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.

silent


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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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