# silent

Pronunciation: say "SY-luhnt" /ˈsaɪlənt/

## Adjective

1. Free from any sound or noise; completely still and quiet.
   - Simple: With no sound at all, so everything is quiet and still.
   - _The snow-covered forest was utterly silent except for our footsteps._
   - _A silent crowd watched the coffin carried down the aisle._
2. Not speaking; unwilling or disinclined to talk.
   - Simple: Not talking, or choosing not to say anything.
   - _The witness remained silent despite repeated questioning._
   - _Her grandfather was a silent man who rarely shared his thoughts._
3. Of a letter or sound, present in the spelling but not pronounced.
   - Simple: Of a letter, written but not said when you read the word.
   - _The 'b' is silent in words such as 'doubt' and 'comb'._
   - _Many French words end in a silent consonant._
4. Set so that a device produces no audible sound, as a phone in silent mode.
   - Simple: Set so that a phone or other device makes no sound.
   - _She switched her phone to silent before the meeting started._
   - _Keep the tablet silent so the baby can sleep._
5. Lacking the capacity to produce or carry sound.
   - Simple: Made or built without any sound.
   - _Silent cinema relied on title cards to convey dialogue._
   - _Early home cameras recorded silent footage only._
6. Producing no noticeable symptoms, and so going undiagnosed or undetected.
   - Simple: Causing no symptoms, so it is hard to notice or find.
   - _Silent hypertension can damage the arteries for years without warning._
   - _The tumor stayed silent until it had grown large enough to detect._
7. Remaining at rest; calm, inactive, and undisturbed.
   - Simple: Calm and still, with nothing moving or happening.
   - _The machines lay silent during the plant's long shutdown._
   - _A silent, undisturbed meadow stretched out before them._
8. Hidden from view; present but unseen.
   - Simple: Present but kept out of sight, so nobody sees it.
   - _She acted as a silent partner, funding the firm but staying out of sight._
   - _A silent threat lurked beneath the surface of the deal._
9. Having no effect; not operating or producing a result.
   - Simple: Not working or doing anything, so it has no effect.
   - _The treatment proved silent, with no effect on the disease._
   - _Such rules remain silent unless someone actually enforces them._
11. Of a correction or other change to a text, made without any note or notice drawing attention to it.
   - Simple: Of a change to a text, made without saying it was made.
   - _Editors made several silent corrections to the reprint._
   - _A silent revision altered the wording without any note to readers._
12. Of a distilled spirit, lacking any flavor or smell of its own; neutral.
   - Simple: Used about strong alcohol that has no taste or smell of its own.
   - _Distillers use silent spirit as a neutral base for flavored liqueurs._
   - _The column still produces a nearly silent spirit ready for rectifying._
13. Of a genetic change: not altering the resulting peptide sequence.
   - Simple: Of a gene change that does not change the protein it makes.
   - _A silent substitution leaves the encoded protein unchanged._
   - _Researchers found the variant was silent and had no effect on the enzyme._

## Noun

10. A motion picture made without recorded sound, especially without spoken dialogue.
   - Simple: A movie made without any recorded sound or spoken words.
   - _Film students study early silents to learn visual storytelling._
   - _The festival screened a restored silent with live piano accompaniment._
14. A state or stretch of quiet; that which makes no sound.
   - Simple: A period of quiet, or the quiet that fills a place.
   - _Through the silent of the small hours, only the clock could be heard._
   - _A deep silent settled over the empty church._

## Origin

From Latin silēns ("silent"), the present participle of sileō ("be silent"), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- ("still, windless, quiet, slow"). It is related to Gothic anasilan ("to cease, grow still, be silent") and Old English sālnes ("silence").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/silent (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).