[syn: dumb, mute, silent]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Silent \Si"lent\, n.
That which is silent; a time of silence. [R.] "The silent of
the night." --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Silent \Si"lent\, a. [L. silens, -entis, p. pr. of silere to be
silent; akin to Goth. ana-silan.]
1. Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly
quiet.
[1913 Webster]
How silent is this town! --Shak.
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2. Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute;
taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.
[1913 Webster]
Ulysses, adds he, was the most eloquent and most
silent of men. --Broome.
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This new-created world, whereof in hell
Fame is not silent. --Milton.
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3. Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed; as, the wind
is silent. --Parnell. Sir W. Raleigh.
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4. (Pron.) Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent; as, e
is silent in "fable."
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5. Having no effect; not operating; inefficient. [R.]
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Cause . . . silent, virtueless, and dead. --Sir W.
Raleigh.
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Silent partner. See Dormant partner, under Dormant.
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Syn: Mute; taciturn; dumb; speechless; quiet; still. See
Mute, and Taciturn.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
silent
adj 1: marked by absence of sound; "a silent house"; "soundless
footsteps on the grass"; "the night was still" [syn:
silent, soundless, still]
2: failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to; "the
witness remained silent" [syn: mum, silent]
3: implied by or inferred from actions or statements; "gave
silent consent"; "a tacit agreement"; "the understood
provisos of a custody agreement" [syn: silent, tacit,
understood]
4: not made to sound; "the silent `h' at the beginning of
`honor'"; "in French certain letters are often unsounded"
[syn: silent, unsounded]
5: having a frequency below or above the range of human
audibility; "a silent dog whistle"
6: unable to speak because of hereditary deafness [syn: dumb,
mute, silent]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
91 Moby Thesaurus words for "silent":
aphonic, brief, brusque, calm, checked, close, close-lipped,
close-tongued, closemouthed, concise, curbed, curt, dumb, echoless,
economical of words, hush as death, hushed, implicit, implied,
inactive, inarticulate, inaudible, incoherent, indisposed to talk,
inhibited, laconic, mousy, mum, mute, muted, noiseless, pacific,
passive, peaceful, placid, quiescent, quiet, reserved, restrained,
reticent, secretive, serene, short, sleeping, snug, soundless,
sparing of words, speechless, still, still as death, stilly,
subaudible, tacit, taciturn, terse, tight-lipped, tongue-tied,
tranquil, unagitated, unarticulated, uncommunicative, undeclared,
understood, undisturbed, unexpressed, unhearable, unloquacious,
unmentioned, unproclaimed, unpronounced, unpublished, unrecorded,
unruffled, unsaid, unsociable, unsounded, unspoken, unstated,
unsung, untalkative, untalked-of, untold, untroubled, unuttered,
unvocalized, unvoiced, unwritten, voiceless, whist, word-bound,
wordless