si·lent (s  l nt)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 sil  ns, silent-, present participle of silre, to be silent.]si lent·ly adv.si lent·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. (Linguistics / 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. (Performing Arts) denoting a film that has no accompanying soundtrack, esp one made before 1927, when such soundtracks were developed
n
(Performing Arts) a silent film
[from Latin silēns, from silēre to be quiet]
silently adv
silentness n
| 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
- tacit - One of its early meanings was "wordless, noiseless," from Latin tacere, "be silent."
- reticent - Based on Latin tacere, "be silent," combined with re-, an intensive prefix.
- silent - From Latin silere, "be silent."
- mumchance - To be mumchance is to be dumbstruck and silent.
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. | silent - 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 They both fell silent.
mute noisy, chattering, rowdy, strident, boisterous, vociferous, riotous, uproarious, obstreperous, clamorous
mute noisy, chattering, rowdy, strident, boisterous, vociferous, riotous, uproarious, obstreperous, clamorous
2. uncommunicative, quiet, taciturn, tongue-tied, unspeaking, nonvocal, not talkative He was a serious, silent man.
3. quiet, still, hushed, soundless, noiseless, muted, stilly (poetic) The heavy guns have again fallen silent.
quiet noisy, loud, piercing, deafening, tumultuous, ear-splitting, cacophonous, clamorous
quiet noisy, loud, piercing, deafening, tumultuous, ear-splitting, cacophonous, clamorous
4. unspoken, implied, implicit, tacit, understood, unexpressed He watched with silent contempt.
Translations
silent [ˈsaɪlənt]
A. ADJ
1. (= noiseless, soundless)
to be silent [person] → quedarse callado; [place, room, street] → estar en silencio
the law is silent on this point → la ley no se pronuncia a este respecto
to fall silent [person] → quedarse callado; [room] → quedar en silencio
the guns have fallen silent → el tiroteo ha cesado, las armas han quedado en silencio(liter)
to lie silent [factory, machine] → permanecer parado
the silent majority → la mayoría silenciosa
silent partner (US) → socio/a m/f comanditario/a
I've remained silent for too long on this issue → he guardado silencio sobre este asunto por demasiado tiempo
you have the right to remain silent → tiene derecho a permanecer callado → no está obligado a responder
to give sb the silent treatment → hacer el vacío a algn
to bear silent witness to sth → ser mudo testigo de algo
to be as silent as the grave or tomb → estar silencioso como una tumba
to be silent [person] → quedarse callado; [place, room, street] → estar en silencio
the law is silent on this point → la ley no se pronuncia a este respecto
to fall silent [person] → quedarse callado; [room] → quedar en silencio
the guns have fallen silent → el tiroteo ha cesado, las armas han quedado en silencio(liter)
to lie silent [factory, machine] → permanecer parado
the silent majority → la mayoría silenciosa
silent partner (US) → socio/a m/f comanditario/a
I've remained silent for too long on this issue → he guardado silencio sobre este asunto por demasiado tiempo
you have the right to remain silent → tiene derecho a permanecer callado → no está obligado a responder
to give sb the silent treatment → hacer el vacío a algn
to bear silent witness to sth → ser mudo testigo de algo
to be as silent as the grave or tomb → estar silencioso como una tumba
2. (= wordless) [prayer, march, vigil] → silencioso; [contempt, protest] → mudo
she looked at him in silent contempt → le miró con mudo desprecio
silent tears ran down her cheeks → las lágrimas le corrían silenciosas por la cara
to pay silent tribute to sb → homenajear en silencio a algn
she looked at him in silent contempt → le miró con mudo desprecio
silent tears ran down her cheeks → las lágrimas le corrían silenciosas por la cara
to pay silent tribute to sb → homenajear en silencio a algn
silent [ˈsaɪlənt] adj
[person] (not speaking) → silencieux/euse
The woman was silent for a moment → La femme resta silencieuse un instant.
to fall silent [person] → se taire
to keep silent (= make no noise) → ne pas faire de bruit (= say nothing on a subject) → garder le silence, ne rien dire
the right to remain silent → le droit de garder le silence
The woman was silent for a moment → La femme resta silencieuse un instant.
to fall silent [person] → se taire
to keep silent (= make no noise) → ne pas faire de bruit (= say nothing on a subject) → garder le silence, ne rien dire
the right to remain silent → le droit de garder le silence
[street, room, engine] → silencieux/euse
to fall silent [guns] → se taire; [streets] → devenir silencieux/euse
to fall silent [guns] → se taire; [streets] → devenir silencieux/euse
[person] (not talkative) → silencieux/euse
He's a silent man → C'est un homme silencieux.
to be silent about sth, to keep silent about sth → taire qch
Douglas was silent about his feelings → Douglas taisait ses sentiments.
to remain silent about sth → garder le silence sur qch
He's a silent man → C'est un homme silencieux.
to be silent about sth, to keep silent about sth → taire qch
Douglas was silent about his feelings → Douglas taisait ses sentiments.
to remain silent about sth → garder le silence sur qch
[film] → muet(te)
(= unexpressed) [contempt, disapproval, prayer] → silencieux/euse
(PHONETICS) [letter] → muet(te)
silent
silent:
adj
→ still; (= not talking also) → schweigsam; engine, machine etc (= running quietly) → ruhig; to fall or become silent → still werden; (people also, guns) → verstummen; to keep or remain silent → still sein or bleiben, sich still verhalten; be silent! → sei still!; the guns are silent → die Waffen schweigen; ovarian cancer is a silent killer → Eierstockkrebs tötet auf leise or unbemerkte Art; his father was the strong silent type → sein Vater war ein schweigsamer, willensstarker Typ
(= not giving comment) to be silent → schweigen; to be silent about or on something → über etw (acc) → schweigen or Stillschweigen bewahren; the law is silent on this point → das Gesetz schweigt zu diesem Punkt; to keep or remain silent → nichts sagen, sich nicht äußern; he kept completely silent when questioned → er sagte kein einziges Wort or überhaupt nichts, als man ihn verhörte; everyone kept silent → keiner sagte etwas; you have the right to remain silent → Sie haben das Recht zu schweigen; to give somebody the silent treatment → jdn mit Schweigen strafen; a silent witness → ein stummer Zeuge, eine stumme Zeugin
(= quiet, wordless) protest → still; agreement, disapproval → (still)schweigend attr; silent demonstration → Schweigemarsch m
pl the silents (Brit Film) → die Stummfilme pl
silent:
silent majority
n the silent → die schweigende Mehrheit
silent partner
n (US Comm) → stiller Teilhaber or Gesellschafter
silent vigil
n → Mahnwache f
silent [ˈsaɪlənt] adj (person) → silenzioso/a; (film, prayer) → muto/a
silent "h" → "h" muta
to fall silent → tacere
to keep or remain silent → tacere, stare zitto/a
silent "h" → "h" muta
to fall silent → tacere
to keep or remain silent → tacere, stare zitto/a
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