silently

Variant of silent

adjective

  1. making no vocal sound; not speaking; speechless; mute
  2. seldom speaking; saying little; not talkative
  3. free from, or not making, sound or noise; quiet; still; noiseless
    1. not spoken, uttered, or expressed: silent longing
    2. 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”
  4. withholding knowledge or omitting mention; uncommunicative
  5. not active: factories silent for months
  6. designating or of films without a synchronized soundtrack
  7. 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

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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