mute´ness

mute´ness
mute «myoot», adjective, noun, verb, mut|ed, mut|ing.
–adj.
1. not making any sound; silent: »

The little girl stood mute with embarrassment. Mute did the minstrels stand To hear my story (Longfellow). Mute was the room—mute the house (Charlotte Brontë).

2. unable to speak; dumb. SYNONYM(S): See syn. under dumb. (Cf. ↑dumb)
3. not pronounced; silent: »

The “e” in “mute” is mute.

4. Phonetics. articulated as a stop; produced by the complete momentary closure of the air passage: »

The “p” in “hop” and “play” is a mute consonant.

5. without speech or sound: »

a mute refusal of an offer, mute astonishment.

6. Law. (of a prisoner) making no response when arraigned: »

to stand mute.

–n.
1. a person who cannot speak, usually because of deafness or loss of or damage to the tongue or vocal cords.
2. a clip or pad put on a musical instrument to soften, deaden, or muffle sound.
3. a silent letter.
4. Phonetics. a stop; mute consonant.
5. an actor who plays pantomime.
6. Law. a prisoner who fails to plead to an indictment.
7. Archaic. a hired attendant at a funeral: »

I saw the coffin, and the mutes, and the mourners (John Galt).

–v.t.
1. to deaden or soften the sound of (a tone, voice, or musical instrument) with or as if with a mute: »

He muted the strings of his violin.

2. to soften or subdue (a color); tone down.
3. to keep silent; suppress: »

He does not mute his own opinionatedness and egotism (Punch).

╂[alteration (influenced by Latin) of Middle English mewet and muet < Old French muet < Latin mūtus]
–mute´ly, adverb.
–mute´ness, noun.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • mute´ly — mute «myoot», adjective, noun, verb, mut|ed, mut|ing. –adj. 1. not making any sound; silent: »The little girl stood mute with embarrassment. Mute did the minstrels stand To hear my story (Longfellow). Mute was the room mute the house (Charlotte… …   Useful english dictionary

  • ness — ness·ber·ry; ness·ler·iza·tion; ness·ler·ize; ness·ler s; new·fan·gled·ness; new·ness; news·i·ness; nice·ness; nig·gard·li·ness; nig·gard·ness; nigh·ness; nip·pi·ness; no·ble·ness; nois·i·ness; non·cha·lant·ness; north·er·li·ness; north·ness;… …   English syllables

  • mute — mute1 [ mjut ] adjective 1. ) not speaking, or not willing to speak: She gazed at him in mute appeal. a ) OLD FASHIONED not able to speak 2. ) LINGUISTICS a letter that is mute is not pronounced ╾ mute|ly adverb ╾ mute|ness noun uncount mute mute …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Mute — A mute is a person who does not speak, either from an inability to speak or an unwillingness to speak. The term mute is specifically applied to a person who, due to profound congenital (or early) deafness, is unable to use articulate language and …   Medical dictionary

  • mute — mal·a·mute; mute·ly; mute·ness; mute; per·mute; trans·mute; com·mute; …   English syllables

  • mute — [[t]myut[/t]] adj. mut•er, mut•est, 1) silent; refraining from speech or utterance 2) not emitting or having sound of any kind 3) incapable of speech 4) phn (of letters) silent; not pronounced 5) law Law. (of a person who has been arraigned)… …   From formal English to slang

  • deaf-mute — def myüt adj often offensive lacking the sense of hearing and the ability to speak deaf mute·ness n, sometimes offensive deaf mut·ism myüt .iz əm n, sometimes offensive deaf mute n often offensive a deaf person who cannot speak …   Medical dictionary

  • deaf-mute — deaf mute; deaf mute·ness; …   English syllables

  • deaf-mute — deaf′ mute′ usage: See dumb off. adj. 1) pat unable to hear and speak 2) off pat a person who is unable to hear and speak, esp. one in whom inability to speak is due to congenital or early deafness • Etymology: 1830–40; trans. of F sourd muet… …   From formal English to slang

  • dumb´ness — dumb «duhm», adjective, verb. –adj. 1. not able to speak: »dumb animals. Helen Keller learned to speak; she was blind and deaf but not dumb. 2. silenced for the moment by fear, surprise, shyness, or other emotion: »She was struck dumb with… …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”