quieten

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈkwaɪətən/ UK /ˈkwaɪətən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become quiet or calm

She tried to quieten the restless children before bedtime.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become quiet or... calm hush silence still soothe pacify subdue

Opposites

agitate disturb rouse stir

Word family

Derived forms quietening

Related forms quiet quietness quietude quietly

Etymology

From quiet + -en; quiet from Old French quiet, from Latin quietus ('at rest, calm'), past participle of quiescere ('to rest'), from quies ('rest').

quietus Latin quies Latin *kʷyeh₁- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# quieten

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkwaɪətən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkwaɪətən/

## Meanings
1. to make or become quiet or calm

## Examples
- She tried to quieten the restless children before bedtime.

## Synonyms
- calm
- hush
- silence
- still
- soothe
- pacify
- subdue

## Antonyms
- agitate
- disturb
- rouse
- stir

## Derived Forms
- quietening

## Related Forms
- quiet
- quietness
- quietude
- quietly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: quietus
- Root: quies
- Root: *kʷyeh₁-

## Etymology
From quiet + -en; quiet from Old French quiet, from Latin quietus ('at rest, calm'), past participle of quiescere ('to rest'), from quies ('rest').

## AI Etymology
Quieten comes from quiet + -en; quiet from Old French quiet, from Latin quietus ('at rest, calm'), past participle of quiescere ('to rest'), from quies ('rest'). The suffix is part of the word's derivational shape, marking the final grammatical or semantic role while the base supplies the central meaning. As a verb, it means "to make or become quiet or calm", so the modern sense keeps the older action or relation visible. Relevant historical forms include Latin quietus, Latin quies, and Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁-. Derivative forms include quietening; related words include quiet, quietness, quietude, quietly.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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