muted

1. 1
   adjective

   Quiet or soft in sound; not loud, sharp, or harsh.

   A muted hum drifted up from the engine room below deck.

   The crowd's cheering grew muted as the home team fell further behind.

   Similarmuffled, soft, faint, quiet, subdued

   Oppositeloud, harsh, strident

2. 2
   adjective

   Expressed in a restrained, understated way rather than strongly or openly.

   The earnings report drew a muted response from investors.

   His criticism was muted, hinting at the problems without naming anyone.

   Similarsubdued, restrained, understated, tepid, lukewarm

   Oppositeenthusiastic, open, outspoken

3. 3
   adjective

   Toned down and subdued; soft and lacking intensity or brightness.

   The designer chose a muted palette of dusty pinks and slate grays.

   Late autumn light gave the whole valley a muted, gentle quality.

   Similarsubdued, soft, subtle

   Oppositebright, vivid, bold, garish

4. 4
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of mute.

   Thick velvet curtains muted the noise from the busy street.

   The host's microphone stayed muted for the first ten minutes of the video call.

   Note

   One spelling serves as both the past tense and the participle of a transitive verb. It almost always comes with an object or in a passive frame: she muted the call; the speaker was muted by the host. The participle and the adjective for soft sound differ in meaning. A muted microphone is switched off entirely, while a muted hum can still be heard, only softened.

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