silent

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsaɪlənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #2304

Meanings

1

adj
With no sound at all; completely quiet.

The house was silent except for the ticking clock.
2

adj
Not speaking, or saying nothing when something is expected.

The witness remained silent throughout the trial.
3

adj
Understood or agreed without being said out loud.

They gave their silent consent to the plan.
4

adj
(of a letter) written but not pronounced.

The 'h' at the beginning of 'honor' is silent.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · with no sound at all;... soundless still quiet

2 adj · not speaking, or saying... speechless mum

3 adj · understood or agreed... tacit

4 adj · (of a letter) written but... unsounded

More hidden inactive invisible mute noiseless occluded silential taciturn

Opposites

loud noisynonsilentunsilent

Word family

Derived forms immunosilentnonsilentoversilentphosphosilentpseudosilentserosilentsilent-but-violentsilentishsilentlysilentnessultrasilentunsilent

Related forms anechoicasonantclicklessecholess inaudible mummumchancemusiclessnonvocalobmutescentshtoomsilence

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

silent film
a film from the early era of cinema that had no synchronised dialogue

Adjective + noun
silent partner
a business partner who invests money but does not take part in everyday management

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Silent is deadly

Etymology

From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).

silēns Latin *seyl- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# silent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈsaɪlənt/
**Frequency rank:** 2304

## Meanings
1. With no sound at all; completely quiet.
2. Not speaking, or saying nothing when something is expected.
3. Understood or agreed without being said out loud.
4. (of a letter) written but not pronounced.

## Examples
- The house was silent except for the ticking clock.
- The witness remained silent throughout the trial.
- They gave their silent consent to the plan.
- The 'h' at the beginning of 'honor' is silent.

## Synonyms
- hidden
- inactive
- invisible
- mute
- noiseless
- occluded
- silential
- soundless
- still
- taciturn

## Antonyms
- loud
- noisy
- nonsilent
- unsilent

## Derived Forms
- immunosilent
- nonsilent
- oversilent
- phosphosilent
- pseudosilent
- serosilent
- silent-but-violent
- silentish
- silently
- silentness
- ultrasilent
- unsilent

## Related Forms
- anechoic
- asonant
- clickless
- echoless
- inaudible
- mum
- mumchance
- musicless
- nonvocal
- obmutescent
- shtoom
- silence

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: silēns
- Root: *seyl-

## Etymology
From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).

## AI Etymology
Silent is from Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”). Important forms in the word's history include Latin silēns, Proto-Indo-European *seyl-. In current use it includes senses such as With no sound at all; completely quiet and Not speaking, or saying nothing when something is expected.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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