unmuted

1. 1
   adjective

   Not silenced; having sound that can be heard rather than switched off.

   The unmuted channel let every notification ring through the office.

   She realized her mic had been unmuted for the entire call.

   Similarlive, audible

   Oppositemuted, silenced

   Note

   Beyond microphones, the adjective can borrow the figurative side of muted, meaning softened or toned down. Theo Dombrowski's Secret Beaches of Southern Vancouver Island (2011) describes the elements "in their most unmuted form": wind and waves at full, unsheltered force. Unlike the verb form, it is gradable (more unmuted, most unmuted), so it can measure raw intensity, not just sound switched back on.

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of unmute.

   The host unmuted every participant for the final discussion.

   Once the speech began, she had unmuted her speakers to listen closely.

   Note

   One form does two jobs: the simple past (the host unmuted the panel) and the participle after have or be (she had unmuted her mic; the panel was unmuted). Because the verb is transitive, the passive comes easily. It also undoes an earlier act, since something is unmuted only after it was muted. After be, the participle can blur into the adjective meaning "not muted". A following by-phrase marks it as the verb.

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