Silent (Adjective)
Meaning 1
Marked by absence of sound; "a silent house"; "soundless footsteps on the grass"; "the night was still".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 2
Failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to; "the witness remained silent".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 3
Implied by or inferred from actions or statements; "gave silent consent"; "a tacit agreement"; "the understood provisos of a custody agreement".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Synonyms
Meaning 4
Having a frequency below or above the range of human audibility; "a silent dog whistle".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Meaning 5
Unable to speak because of hereditary deafness.
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Synonyms
Meaning 6
Not made to sound; "the silent `h' at the beginning of `honor'"; "in French certain letters are often unsounded".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The silent 'b' in 'dumb' is a quirk of the English language that can be confusing for non-native speakers.
- In French, the letter combination 'gn' is often pronounced with a silent 'g'.
- The silent 'k' in 'knead' is a characteristic of many English words that have Germanic roots.
- The letter 'p' in 'psychology' is considered silent because it's not pronounced in the word.
- The silent 'h' in 'hour' is a historical remnant from the word's Greek origin.