mute

¹mute

adjective \ˈmyüt\

mut·ermut·est

Definition of MUTE

1

: unable to speak : lacking the power of speech

2

: characterized by absence of speech: as

a : felt or experienced but not expressed <touched her hand in mute sympathy>

b : refusing to plead directly or stand trial <the prisoner stands mute>

3

: remaining silent, undiscovered, or unrecognized

4

a : contributing nothing to the pronunciation of a word <the b in plumb is mute>

b : contributing to the pronunciation of a word but not representing the nucleus of a syllable <the e in mate is mute>

— mute·ly adverb

— mute·ness noun

Examples of MUTE

1. They hugged each other in mute sympathy.
2. I could see a mute plea for help in his eyes.

Origin of MUTE

Middle English muet, mut, from Anglo-French, from mu, mute, from Latin mutus, probably from mu, representation of a muttered sound

First Known Use: 1513

Related to MUTE

Synonyms

inarticulate, speechless, voiceless

Antonyms

communicative, speaking, talking

Related Words

tongue-tied; incoherent, incomprehensible; closemouthed, laconic, reserved, reticent, taciturn, tight-lipped, uncommunicative; mum, nonspeaking, quiet, silent, wordless

Near Antonyms

blabby, chatty, communicative, expansive, gabby, garrulous, loquacious, talkative, talky, vocal; expatiating, speaking out, speaking up; articulating, speaking, talking; articulate, eloquent, fluent, voluble

Rhymes with MUTE

boot, bruit, brut, brute, bute, Bute, butte, chute, cloot, coot, cute, flute, fruit, glout, glute, hoot, jute, Jute, loot, lute, moot, newt, pood, root, Root, rout, route, scoot, scute, shoot, snoot, soot, suit, suite, toot, tout, ut, Ute

²mute

noun

Definition of MUTE

1

: stop 9

2

: a person who cannot or does not speak

3

: a device attached to or inserted into a musical instrument to soften or alter its tone

Examples of MUTE

1. <I was practicing my trumpet at three in the morning when the mute fell out, and I managed to wake everyone up.>

First Known Use of MUTE

1530

Related to MUTE

Synonyms

damper

Related Words

muffler, quieter, softener, soft pedal

³mute

transitive verb

mut·edmut·ing

Definition of MUTE

1

: to muffle, reduce, or eliminate the sound of

2

: to tone down : soften, subdue <mute a color>

First Known Use of MUTE

1883

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, presto, refrain, riff, segue

⁴mute

intransitive verb

mut·edmut·ing

Definition of MUTE

of a bird

: to evacuate the cloaca

Origin of MUTE

Middle English, from Anglo-French *meutir, short for ameutir, alteration of Old French esmeltir, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch smelten to melt, make fluid, defecate (of birds)

First Known Use: 15th century