silent
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- quiet, hushed, muted, noiseless, soundless, still
- mute, dumb, speechless, taciturn, voiceless, wordless

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Antonyms: talkative, noisy
Contrasted words: speaking, talking, articulate, fluent, glib, vocal, voluble, babblative, garrulous, loquacious, windy, blabbering, blabbery, chattering
Related Idioms: silent as a post (or stone), silent as the grave (or tomb)
Related Words: inarticulate, muted, tongue-tied, voiceless, checked, curbed, inhibited, restrained, unconversational, unsociable, incoherent, mute, mum, secretive

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

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

si‧lent W3 /ˈsaɪlənt/ adjective
[Word Family: noun: silence, silencer; verb: silence; adverb: silently; adjective: silent]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: present participle of silere 'to be silent']

1. NOT SPEAKING
a) not saying anything:
Alan was silent.
remain/stay/keep silent
She kept silent, forcing Buchanan to continue.
The crowd fell silent (=became silent) when the President appeared.
b) [only before noun] not talking much to other people
the strong silent type (=a man who looks strong and does not talk very much)

REGISTER
Silent is used mainly in writing. In everyday English, people usually use not say anything rather than be silent:
She didn’t say anything, so I carried on.
The article doesn’t say anything about religion.

2. NOT COMMUNICATING failing or refusing to talk about something or express an opinion
silent on/about
The report was silent on the subject.

3. QUIET without any sound, or not making any sound:
The large house was silent and lonely.
At last the guns fell silent.
Julie offered up a silent prayer that she would pass her exam.
as silent as the grave (=completely silent in a mysterious or uncomfortable way)

4. FILMS [only before noun] a silent film has pictures but no sound

5. LETTER a silent letter in a word is not pronounced:
The ‘w’ in ‘wreck’ is silent.
—silently adverb:
He sat silently by the bed.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

silent
adj.
VERBS be, seem | become, fall, go, grow The crowd fell silent as she began to speak. The room grew silent as the men entered.
keep, lie, remain, sit, stand, stay I could not keep silent any longer. The street lay silent and deserted. She sat silent throughout the meal.
ADV. remarkably, unusually | absolutely, completely, perfectly, quite, totally, utterly | almost, virtually The new bus is virtually silent.
largely an issue about which the researchers are largely silent
fairly, rather | suddenly | eerily, strangely The street was strangely silent.
grimly, obstinately, resolutely, stubbornly Len remained obstinately silent.
uncomfortably For long periods they were uncomfortably silent because they could think of nothing to say.
uncharacteristically
PREP. about They had kept remarkably silent about their intentions.
on The report was silent on that subject.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

silent
adjective
DUBIOUS: After a hard day's work, I like to be silent.
GOOD: After a hard day's work, I like to be quiet.

Usage Note:
silent = without any sound at all: 'Apart from the regular ticking of the clock, the room was completely silent.'
quiet = without unwanted noise or activity; peaceful: 'After a few quiet days in the countryside, we felt ready to face London again.'

[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 ▲