adjective
- making no vocal sound; not speaking; speechless; mute
- seldom speaking; saying little; not talkative
- free from, or not making, sound or noise; quiet; still; noiseless
- not spoken, uttered, or expressed: silent longing
- included in the spelling of a word but with no part of the word's pronunciation corresponding directly to it: said of a letter or group of letters: silent b in “debt” and gh in “thought”
- withholding knowledge or omitting mention; uncommunicative
- not active: factories silent for months
- designating or of films without a synchronized soundtrack
- not having noticeable symptoms: a silent heart attack
Origin:
L silens < prp. of silere, to be silent, still, prob. < IE base *sē(i)-, *sī-, to rest > seed, side, Goth (ana)silan, to cease (of the wind)
noun
silent films: often preceded by the