- si´lent|ness
- si|lent «SY luhnt», adjective, noun.–adj.2. not speaking; saying little or nothing: »
Pupils must be silent in the study hour. He was silent about his early life. Ulysses…was the most eloquent and the most silent of men (William Broome).
3. performed, made, suffered, or otherwise done or endured, in silence or without speaking; not spoken; not said out loud: »a silent prayer, silent agony, silent opposition, a silent movie.
SYNONYM(S): unspoken, unsounded.5. omitting mention of something, as in a narrative: »An event has happened, upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to be silent (Edmund Burke).
6. (of a letter in spelling) not representing a sound: »The “b” in “dumb” is silent.
–n. silents,motion pictures without recorded and synchronized sounds: »He confined his moviegoing to Charlie Chaplin silents (Atlantic).
╂[< Latin silēns, -entis, present participle of silēre be silent]–si´lent|ly, adverb.–si´lent|ness, noun.Synonym Study adjective.2 Silent, taciturn, reticent mean saying little or nothing. Silent especially means not talkative, characteristically speaking only when necessary or saying very little: »He is a silent, thoughtful boy.
Taciturn means not fond of talking, being by nature inclined to be silent and avoid conversation: »He is a taciturn man who dislikes parties.
Reticent means not saying all one knows, disposed to keep silent, especially about private affairs: »He is reticent about his early life.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
