quiet
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- silent, hushed, inaudible, low, noiseless, peaceful, soft, soundless
- calm, mild, peaceful, placid, restful, serene, smooth, tranquil
- undisturbed, isolated, private, secluded, sequestered, unfrequented
- reserved, gentle, meek, mild, retiring, sedate, shy
[noun]
Synonyms:
- peace, calmness, ease, quietness, repose, rest, serenity, silence, stillness, tranquillity

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Antonyms: unquiet, gaudy, loud, disquiet, excite
Contrasted words: din, hubbub, racket, uproar, harsh, rough, disquieted, disturbed, perturbed, upset, blatant, boisterous, clamorous, strident, vociferous, brazen, flashy, garish, glaring, meretricious, tawdry, tinsel, elaborate, excite, provoke, quicken, stimulate, awaken, rally, stir, agitate, unhinge, untune
Related Words: cessation, stop, termination, homely, plain, simple, unpretentious, abate, decrease, lessen

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English Thesaurus: quiet, low, soft, silent, hushed, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. qui‧et¹ S2 W2 /ˈkwaɪət/ adjective (comparative quieter, superlative quietest)
[Word Family: noun: quiet, disquiet, quietness, quietism, quietude; verb: quieten, quiet; adverb: quietly; adjective: quiet]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: quietus, from the past participle of quiescere 'to become quiet, rest', from quies; ⇒ quiet²]

1. MAKING NO NOISE not making much noise, or making no noise at all:
We’ll have to be quiet so as not to wake the baby.
It’s a nice car. The engine’s really quiet.
I’ll be as quiet as a mouse (=very quiet). ⇒ see box on P.1426

2. NOT SPEAKING
a) not saying much or not saying anything:
You’re very quiet, Mom – is anything the matter?
I didn’t know anything about it so I just kept quiet.
The crowd went quiet.
quiet confidence/satisfaction/desperation (=having a particular feeling but not talking about it)
a woman whose life of quiet desperation threatens to overwhelm her
quiet authority/dignity (=not saying much but making other people have a particular feeling about you)
Jack’s air of quiet authority
b) someone who is quiet does not usually talk very much:
a strange, quiet girl

3. (be) quiet! spoken used to tell someone to stop talking or making a noise:
Tanya, be quiet! I’m on the phone.
Quiet, you lot!

4. keep something quiet/keep quiet about something to keep information secret:
You’re getting married? You kept that quiet!

5. PLACE WITH NO NOISE a place that is quiet has no noise or not much noise:
Our hotel room was comfortable and quiet.
When they walked into the pub, the place went quiet.

6. NO ACTIVITY/PEOPLE without much activity or without many people:
It was a Sunday, about three o'clock, and the streets were quiet.
I’d love to go on holiday somewhere where it’s nice and quiet.
Anthony met her in the bar, and they found a quiet corner where they could talk.
I’m going to have a quiet night in (=an evening when you stay at home and relax).
He wants a quiet life, while she wants to go out partying.

7. BUSINESS if business is quiet, there are not many customers Synonym : slack:
August is a quiet time of year for the retail trade.

8. keep somebody quiet to stop someone from talking, complaining, or causing trouble:
Give the kids some crayons – that will keep them quiet for a while.

9. have a quiet word (with somebody) especially British English to talk to someone privately when you want to criticize them or tell them about something serious:
Brian’s just not keeping up with the workload. Can you have a quiet word?
HINT:
► Do not confuse quiet with quite (=fairly).
—quietness noun [uncountable]
⇒ quietly

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. quiet² noun [uncountable]
[Word Family: noun: quiet, disquiet, quietness, quietism, quietude; verb: quieten, quiet; adverb: quietly; adjective: quiet]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Latin; Origin: quies 'rest, quiet']

1. the state of being quiet, calm, and peaceful:
We were enjoying the quiet of the forest.
I’ve had an awful day – now I just want some peace and quiet.

2. silence:
Can I have some quiet, please?

3. on the quiet British English informal secretly:
We found out he’d been doing some freelance work on the quiet.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

quiet
adj.
I. with little or no noise; not talking
VERBS be | become, fall, go, grow | lie, keep, remain, sit, stay Just sit quiet for a moment, there's a good boy.
keep sb/sth Keep that dog quiet, will you!
ADV. all, extraordinarily, extremely, really, remarkably, unusually, very Suddenly the room went all quiet.
absolutely, completely, perfectly | fairly, pretty, rather | enough | blissfully | deathly, eerily The house was eerily quiet.
dangerously, ominously His voice was dangerously quiet as he asked the question.
oddly, strangely, unnaturally She went back to a strangely quiet house.
uncharacteristically
PREP. about I knew I had to keep quiet about it.
PHRASES nice (and) quiet I was looking forward to a nice quiet afternoon.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

quiet
II. without much activity
VERBS be, look, seem | become | lie, remain, sit Lie quiet for an hour and you'll feel better.
keep sb/sth Keep the patient as quiet as possible.
ADV. extremely, very | comparatively, fairly, pretty, quite, rather, reasonably, relatively | enough Things seemed quiet enough, but it was an uneasy calm.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

quiet
noun
ADJ. comparative, relative a period of comparative quiet
sudden
VERB + QUIET call for A man's voice was calling for quiet.
shatter A machine gun shattered the quiet.
QUIET + VERB follow in the sudden quiet that followed the gunshot
PHRASES peace and quiet I'm going home for a bit of peace and quiet!
a place/time of quiet She made sure she had times of quiet in which to write.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

quiet
adjective
See NICE (nice)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

quiet not making a loud sound:
I heard a quiet voice behind me.
a car with a quiet engine
low quiet – especially because you do not want people to hear or be disturbed:
Doug was on the phone, speaking in a low voice.
I turned the volume down low.
soft quiet and pleasant to listen to:
Soft music was playing in the background.
His voice was soft and gentle.
silent not making any sound at all:
a silent prayer
silent laughter
The machines were virtually silent.
hushed deliberately quiet because you do not want people to hear – used about people’s voices:
They were talking about money in hushed tones.
The doctor’s voice was hushed and urgent.
faint quiet and difficult to hear because it comes from a long way away:
The men went ahead and their voices got fainter and fainter.
the faint sound of bells
muffled difficult to hear, for example because the sound comes from another room or someone’s mouth is covered by something:
Muffled voices were coming from downstairs.
the muffled sound of someone crying
dull [only before noun] a dull sound is not loud – used especially about the sound of something hitting another thing:
He hit the ground with a dull thud.
inaudible too quiet to hear:
The sound is inaudible to the human ear.
Her answer came in an almost inaudible whisper.
peaceful (also tranquil especially written) quiet in a pleasant and relaxing way:
Life’s more peaceful in the countryside.
The hotel is set in tranquil surroundings.
sleepy [only before noun] quiet – used about a town or village where there are not many people and very little happens:
a sleepy fishing village
taciturn /ˈtæsətɜːn, ˈtæsɪtɜːn $ -ɜːrn/ formal not talking much and seeming a little unfriendly or bad-tempered:
He found Vaughn a taciturn and rather difficult person.
reticent unwilling to talk to other people, especially about a particular subject:
She’s always been reticent about her early life.
a man/woman of few words someone who does not talk much, especially because they only speak when there is something important to say:
My father was a man of few words, but when he spoke everyone listened.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

quiet not saying much:
He’s a quiet boy who loves reading.
You’re very quiet tonight, Suzy – are you OK?
silent not saying anything:
Her husband was a big silent man.
Everyone was arguing but I decided to remain silent.
taciturn /ˈtæsətɜːn, ˈtæsɪtɜːn $ -ɜːrn/ formal not talking much and seeming a little unfriendly or bad-tempered:
He found Vaughn a taciturn and rather difficult person.
reticent unwilling to talk to other people, especially about a particular subject:
She’s always been reticent about her early life.
a man/woman of few words someone who does not talk much, especially because they only speak when there is something important to say:
My father was a man of few words, but when he spoke everyone listened.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

quiet without much noise:
It’s so quiet here at night.
This is the quietest room in the house to work in.
silent with no noise at all:
The room fell silent (=became silent).
peaceful (also tranquil especially written) quiet in a pleasant and relaxing way:
Life’s more peaceful in the countryside.
The hotel is set in tranquil surroundings.
sleepy [only before noun] quiet – used about a town or village where there are not many people and very little happens:
a sleepy fishing village

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲