| Library / English Dictionary |
SILENT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Unable to speak because of hereditary deafness
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
inarticulate; unarticulate (without or deprived of the use of speech or words)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Having a frequency below or above the range of human audibility
Example:
a silent dog whistle
Classified under:
Similar:
inaudible; unhearable (impossible to hear; imperceptible by the ear)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not made to sound
Example:
in French certain letters are often unsounded
Synonyms:
silent; unsounded
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
inaudible; unhearable (impossible to hear; imperceptible by the ear)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to
Example:
the witness remained silent
Synonyms:
mum; silent
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
incommunicative; uncommunicative (not inclined to talk or give information or express opinions)
Derivation:
silence (a refusal to speak when expected)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Implied by or inferred from actions or statements
Example:
the understood provisos of a custody agreement
Synonyms:
silent; tacit; understood
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
implicit; inexplicit (implied though not directly expressed; inherent in the nature of something)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Marked by absence of sound
Example:
the night was still
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
quiet (free of noise or uproar; or making little if any sound)
Derivation:
silence (the absence of sound)
silence (the state of being silent (as when no one is speaking))
Context examples:
Silent or hormonally non-functioning ACTH producing adenomas have also been described.
(ACTH-Producing Pituitary Gland Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)
With our black silk face-coverings, which turned us into two of the most truculent figures in London, we stole up to the silent, gloomy house.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
She remained silent; her disappointment was apparent.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
I again cried: and still it was silent.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
How sharp you are, Marmee, and how silent!
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
No one ever moved in the silent woods.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
My companion sat silent for some time, with his chin upon his hand, lost in thought.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Thanks to our sun's rumblings, Voyager has the opportunity to listen to the singing of interstellar space — an otherwise silent place.
(Sun sends more 'tsunami waves' to Voyager 1, NASA)
They were both silent: Mrs Smith very thoughtful.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
However, I remained silent and sullen; I was ready to faint at the very smell of him and his men.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
