EN

Synonyms for silent

  • adjective

Most common

mute quiescent voiceless passive soundless still wordless tacit

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Mute — not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent

mute, quiescent, voiceless, passive, inactive, servile

2. Soundless

soundless, still, inaudible, noiseless

3. Wordless

wordless, unspoken, inarticulate, tongueless rare

4. Tacit

tacit, understood, implicit

Other

taciturn, speechless, calm, invisible, reticent, uncommunicative, tranquil, secretive, dormant, concealed, reserved, snug

Antonyms

talkative, vocal, boastful

All antonyms of silent →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Not pronounced; having no sound; quiescent.

    The e is silent in fable.

  2. adj. 2

    Free from sound or noise; absolutely still; perfectly quiet.

    What was formerly performed by fleets and armies, by invasions, sieges, and battles, has been of late accomplished by more silent methods.

  3. adj. 3

    Not speaking; indisposed to talk; speechless; mute; taciturn; not loquacious; not talkative.

  4. adj. 4

    Keeping at rest; inactive; calm; undisturbed.

Related words

Word family
silently silence
Phrases
silent treatment silent film silent fox silent h silent disco silent movie silent picture silent e
Is a kind of
lacking

Choose the right word

Silent, Dumb, Mute, Speechless or Taciturn?

Dumb, mute, silent and speechless refer to fact or state; taciturn refers to habit and disposition. One who is silent does not speak at all; one who is taciturn speaks when compelled, but in a grudging way that repels further approach.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • passive Passive smokers are the victims of active smokers.
  • mute Mute people can communicate using sign language.
  • voiceless Dutch has both voiced and voiceless consonants.
  • quiescent His normally quiescent demeanor hid a storm of ideas beneath the surface.
  • inaudible Some multilingual people think that English is somewhat inaudible.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
silentrising
passiverising
muterising
voicelesssteady
quiescentfalling
inaudiblerising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
calm1, mute1, snug1
5 letters
still1, tacit2
7 letters
passive2, dormant2, servile2
8 letters
reserved2, inactive3, implicit3, unspoken3, tranquil2, wordless2, reticent3, taciturn3
9 letters
invisible4, concealed2, secretive3, voiceless2, inaudible4, quiescent3, soundless, noiseless
10 letters
understood3, speechless2, tongueless
12 letters
inarticulate5
15 letters
uncommunicative

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (tacit2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
silencieux
Italiano
silenzioso
Español
silencioso
Deutsch
still
Català
silenciós