silent

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English sylent, from Latin silent-, silens, from present participle of silēre to be silent; akin to Gothic anasilan to cease, grow calm Date: 15th century 1. a. making no utterance ; mute, speechless b. indisposed to speak ; not loquacious 2. free from sound or noise ; still 3. performed or borne without utterance ; unspoken <

silent prayer

> <

silent grief

> 4. a. making no mention <

history is silent about this person

> b. not widely or generally known or appreciated <

the silent pressures on a person in public office

> c. making no protest or outcry <

the silent majority

> 5. unpronounced <

the silent b in doubt

> 6. not exhibiting the usual signs or symptoms of presence <

a silent infection

> 7. a. made without spoken dialogue <

silent movies

> b. of or relating to silent movies • silently adverb • silentness noun Synonyms: silent, taciturn, reticent, reserved, secretive mean showing restraint in speaking. silent implies a habit of saying no more than is needed <

the strong, silent type

>. taciturn implies a temperamental disinclination to speech and usually connotes unsociability <

taciturn villagers

>. reticent implies a reluctance to speak out or at length, especially about one's own affairs <

was reticent about his plans

>. reserved implies reticence and suggests the restraining influence of caution or formality in checking easy informal conversational exchange <

greetings were brief, formal, and reserved

>. secretive too, implies reticence but usually carries a suggestion of deviousness and lack of frankness or of an often ostentatious will to conceal <

the secretive research and development division

>. II. noun Date: 1929 a motion picture made without spoken dialogue — usually used in plural