quiet

A1 Topic:Senses & Perception

US /ˈkwaɪ̯.ɪt/ UK /ˈkwaɪ̯.ət/ See IPA manual

Freq #649

Meanings

1

adj
Making little or no noise.

The library was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
2

adj
Not talking much; reserved by nature.

He's a quiet man, but very friendly once you know him.
3

adj
Calm and without much activity.

We spent a quiet evening at home.
4

verb
To make someone or something calm or less noisy.

She spoke softly to quiet the frightened child.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · making little or no noise. hushed silent

2 adj · not talking much; reserved... reserved reticent

3 adj · calm and without much... calm peaceful

4 verb · to make someone or... calmcalm downquieten still

More faint low muffled softstifledtranquil

Opposites

noisy silent

Word family

Forms quietedquieterquietestquietingquiets

Derived forms bequietnonquietoverquietquaaludequietenquietfulquietishquietisticquietlessquietlikequietly quietness

Related forms gentlesusurrantsusurrous

Appears in

Phrases (4)

See all

quiet evening
a calm evening at home with little activity or noise

Adjective + noun
quiet street
a street with little noise or traffic

Adjective + noun
quiet grace
a calm, understated dignity or elegance

Adjective + noun
quiet confidence
assurance expressed calmly without boasting

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Anything for a quiet life

Simplified etymology

Quiet entered Middle English from Latin quietus, meaning “free,” which in medieval Latin also meant “free from war” or “calm.” Quietus itself derives from Latin quiescere, “be still” or “be at peace.”

Etymology

From Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet (adjective) and quiete (noun), from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere (“to keep quiet, rest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“rest”). Doublet of coy, quit, quite, and quietus. Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound".

*kʷyeh₁- Proto-Indo-European quiete Middle English quiet Old French quiētus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Senses & Perception

External links

# quiet

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkwaɪ̯.ɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkwaɪ̯.ət/
**Frequency rank:** 649

## Meanings
1. Making little or no noise.
2. Not talking much; reserved by nature.
3. Calm and without much activity.
4. To make someone or something calm or less noisy.

## Examples
- The library was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
- He's a quiet man, but very friendly once you know him.
- We spent a quiet evening at home.
- She spoke softly to quiet the frightened child.

## Synonyms
- faint
- hushed
- low
- muffled
- soft
- stifled
- still
- tranquil

## Antonyms
- noisy
- silent

## Derived Forms
- bequiet
- nonquiet
- overquiet
- quaalude
- quieten
- quietful
- quietish
- quietistic
- quietless
- quietlike
- quietly
- quietness

## Related Forms
- gentle
- susurrant
- susurrous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *kʷyeh₁-
- Root: quiete
- Root: quiet
- Root: quiētus

## Etymology
From Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet (adjective) and quiete (noun), from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere (“to keep quiet, rest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“rest”). Doublet of coy, quit, quite, and quietus. Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound".

## AI Etymology
Quiet comes from Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet (adjective) and quiete (noun), from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere (“to keep quiet, rest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“rest”). Doublet of coy, quit, quite, and quietus. Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound". In present-day English it covers making little or no noise, not talking much; reserved by nature, and calm and without much activity. The wider family includes derived forms such as bequiet, nonquiet, overquiet, quaalude, quieten and related forms such as gentle, susurrant, susurrous.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception

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