quiet

noun

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qui·et | \ ˈkwī-ət

Definition of quiet

(Entry 1 of 4)

: the quality or state of being quiet (see quiet entry 2) : tranquility

on the quiet

: in a secretive manner : in secret

quiet

adjective

Definition of quiet (Entry 2 of 4)

1a : free from noise or uproar : still a quiet room The lights went down and the theater became quiet.

b : making or involving no noise or very little noise a quiet motor a quiet conversation Everyone suddenly went quiet. Please be quiet—people are trying to study.

c : tending to speak very little : not loquacious He was a quiet, reserved person.

d : unobtrusive, conservative quiet clothes/colors

2a : marked by little or no motion or activity : calm a quiet sea At such an early hour, the streets seemed strangely quiet.

b : gentle, easygoing a quiet temperament

c : not disturbed by noise or activity quiet reading a moment of quiet contemplation : enjoyed in peace and relaxation a quiet cup of tea

3 : secluded a quiet nook

4 : carried out secretly or discreetly quiet diplomacy : not made known openly or publicly worked with quiet determination She had a quiet confidence about her. He took a quiet satisfaction in a job well done.

quiet

adverb

Definition of quiet (Entry 3 of 4)

: in a quiet manner an engine that runs quiet

quiet

verb

quieted; quieting; quiets

Definition of quiet (Entry 4 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : to cause to be quiet : calm

2 : to make secure by freeing from dispute or question quiet title to a property

intransitive verb

: to become quiet —usually used with down

Other Words from quiet Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about quiet

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Examples of quiet in a Sentence

Noun My hostess told me she had some records I might like to hear and she called for quiet in the room. People sat down on the floor in groups, sharing bottles of wine and slivovitz. The host put the record on a windup record player and Lester Young's saxophone yowled out of the silence. — Maya Angelou, Gourmet, November 2002 When my parents needed peace and quiet, they didn't put me in front of the television to watch a "Baby Einstein" video; they plopped me in a chair to watch my mom do housework or cook. — Robb Moretti, Newsweek, 5 Aug. 2002 the quiet of a wooded trail Can I have some quiet here? I'm trying to study. I need a little peace and quiet. Adjective Breakfast at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, a members-only institution founded in the city now called Mumbai in 1846 by British colonial officers, is a meal of quiet elegance. The second-story veranda looks out over a small garden and, beyond that, the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. Outside is the tumult of horse-drawn carriages, touts, and taxis. Inside is peaceful stillness, broken only by the sounds of crunched-on toast and rustling newspapers. — Lyla Bavadam, Saveur, October 2008 One change I notice is that I get sleepy earlier than I used to, sometimes by 8:30 or 9 if I am having a quiet evening at home. — Andrew Weil, Time, 17 Oct. 2005 I interviewed Virginia, who is totally blind, in a small local library. Walking with her guide dog, this young-looking woman arrived soon after I came in. We found a quiet corner to sit and talk while her dog settled beside her chair. At forty-three, Virginia was used to telling her story and found time for our interview in her busy travel schedule. She had just returned from San Francisco where she had spoken at the California Academy of Sciences and was about to leave for Montreal, Canada, to conduct workshops in diversity awareness. — Mary Grimley Mason, Working Against Odds, 2004 Attributing their behaviors to their personal dispositions, we decide Julie is shy and Jack is outgoing. Because people do have enduring personality traits, such attributions are sometimes valid. However, we often overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the influence of situations. In class, Jack may be as quiet as Julie. Catch Julie at a party and you may hardly recognize your quiet classmate. — David G. Myers, Psychology, 2001 the quiet hum of the refrigerator He spoke in a very quiet voice. Surprisingly, the class was quiet. He's a very quiet person. She has a quiet disposition. During the morning, business was quiet. Some days at the store are quieter than others. a quiet stretch of road He led a quiet life. Adverb lie quiet and no one will guess you're hiding under the bed Verb Clemens had few questions to answer about Piazza. The beanball and broken bat from 2000, and the Mets' tepid retaliation last season, were memories. And since Clemens recorded his 300th victory on June 13, the buzz around him has quieted. — Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 29 June 2003 When she walked down the hall past his classroom, the sounds of chaos came over the frosted-glass pane above the door. She had taken to making random visits; the sight of her in the doorway quieted the kids. — Mary Gordon, Atlantic, May 1999 Even with that, Presser was so scared that he fled to Florida and moved from hotel to hotel till the gang war quieted down, with his side on top. — A. H. Raskin, New York Times Book Review, 10 Dec. 1989 the museum docent told the rowdy youngsters to quiet down for the tour quiet a crying toddler with candy

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Even before last winter’s snow had fully melted, the roar of leaf blowers began to punctuate the quiet of many towns, renewing noise battles that had only intensified as more people worked from home. — New York Times, "The Robots Are Coming … to Mow Your Lawn," 6 Apr. 2021 Indeed, though Tuesday was the usual quiet before the deadline’s final 24 hours frenzy, indications were that three of Dallas’ reported trade targets were trending out of reach. — Dallas News, "‘I like our team’: As the NBA deadline nears, Mavs’ Rick Carlisle isn’t focused on trade rumors, nonsense and noise," 23 Mar. 2021 The men moved so slowly up the steps, their footfalls were clear in the quiet. — Washington Post, "The royal funeral was a reminder of the value of rituals," 17 Apr. 2021 The geyser roared back to life in 2018 after decades of relative quiet. — Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, "Yellowstone’s tallest geyser springs back to life, and Utah scientists want to know why," 17 Mar. 2021 On the same golf courses where he had long been greeted by wild cheering, his presence was instead met with an eerie quiet. — Bill Pennington, New York Times, "Tiger Woods Injured in Serious Car Accident," 23 Feb. 2021 Luckily, the paps are being respectful of the cast and crew’s boundaries, 20-year-old Lind explains, speaking from the peace and quiet of her Park Slope apartment. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Gossip Girl’s Emily Alyn Lind Is Preparing for the Madness," 12 Mar. 2021 The sky is fogged to white; the Bronx River ruffles the heavy quiet. — Jia Tolentino, Vogue, "Selena Gomez on Politics, Faith, and Making the Music of Her Career," 9 Mar. 2021 Part of what makes nature so restorative, Williams says, is the full sensory experience: the immunity-boosting scent of evergreen trees, the fractal patterns that captivate our eyes, the brain-calming quiet of the woods. — Jon Gorey, BostonGlobe.com, "‘A shortcut to mindfulness’: Finding a way back to the great outdoors," 4 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The royal family has kept quiet about the interview, except for a brief comment from Prince William denying that the family is racist. — NBC News, "Oprah Winfrey was 'surprised' at how open Prince Harry and Meghan were," 24 Apr. 2021 In keeping with his spiritual beliefs, Prince chose to keep his philanthropy quiet so as not to seek glory for himself. — Lisa Respers France, CNN, "Prince: Five years after his death, his beloved Minneapolis has been in turmoil," 21 Apr. 2021 But that hasn’t kept the Celtic punk rockers quiet as the band, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, has taken to playing virtual shows online in the past year. — BostonGlobe.com, "Dropkick Murphys announce virtual release party to celebrate new album," 19 Apr. 2021 There is a crispness to the hard edges of the blocks of color – the jacket, the T-shirt, the house, that make the colors pop while the facial details recede into a more quiet zone. — Tom Teicholz, Forbes, "Artist Amy Sherald Delivers ‘The Great American Fact’," 15 Apr. 2021 But unlike Ossoff, the state’s other Democratic senator, Raphael Warnock, publicly kept quiet as MLB deliberated, only commenting after the decision had been announced. — John Mccormack, National Review, "Will MLB’s Decision to Move the All-Star Game from Atlanta Hurt Democrats in 2022?," 9 Apr. 2021 Hamzah was removed as crown prince by the king in 2004, and initially kept quiet about his frustration at the demotion. — Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, "Breaking Silence, Jordan’s King Says Royal Family Rift Is Over," 7 Apr. 2021 Jackson also says that owner Jimmy Haslam extended his contract in the middle of the 2017 season but wanted to keep it quiet from the public. — cleveland, "Hue Jackson writing book on dark days as Browns coach: Crowquill," 4 Apr. 2021 At the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza site, the atmosphere, though quiet, was festive. — Amina Khan Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "Coronavirus Today: California’s new vaccination milestone," 1 Apr. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb This quiet-running progressive resistance bike trainer that offers a road-like feel is once again our top choice for the best model. — Allen Foster, chicagotribune.com, "The best bike trainer of 2020," 25 Sep. 2020 The Stadio San Paolo, Napoli's famed crumbling colosseum, erupted as Mertens headed home from Adrian's save, only to fall quiet after seeing the linesman's flag raised for an obvious offside. — Matias Grez, CNN, "Liverpool stunned by Napoli late goals in the Champions League," 17 Sep. 2019 Then, at some random moment, the atom goes quiet, signaling that the atom has entered the dark state. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Following Schrödinger’s cat to its death and giving it a reprieve," 5 June 2019 When the sun is up, the city center is crowded, but the streets empty as night falls, quiet except for the occasional sound of gunfire and rockets exploding on the outskirts of town. — Najim Rahim, David Jolly And Ahmad Shakib, New York Times, "For Afghans in Kunduz, Taliban Assault Is Just the Latest Affront OCT. 7, 2015," 6 Feb. 2016 The boat goes quiet except for the occasional flap of the sail. — Chris Jones, Esquire, "Vertigo," 15 Sep. 2010 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb For years, Frye documented every moment of her everyday life, from industry parties with then-heartthrobs Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, to quiet introspective moments alone. — Anne Cohen, refinery29.com, "With Kid90, Soleil Moon Frye Takes Us Into The Private World Of Hollywood Child Stars," 18 Mar. 2021 About 15 minutes after the group arrived at Hawley’s residence, a law enforcement officer can be seen on the live stream asking them to quiet down until her supervisor arrives. — Washington Post, "Sen. Josh Hawley says ‘Antifa scumbags’ terrorized his family’s Virginia home. Protesters say they held a peaceful vigil.," 5 Jan. 2021 Relaxing scents of lavender and chamomile combine with an array of crystals in this handmade candle to soothe and quiet the mind. — Naveen Kumar, CNN Underscored, "19 gifts for the astrology-obsessed person in your life," 10 Dec. 2020 The signing of Sammy Watkins did little to quiet fan discontent over the position that has long vexed the Ravens. — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, "Five Things We Learned from the Ravens’ predraft news conference," 20 Apr. 2021 While changing your self-talk can work in some cases, sometimes the voices of guilt and shame are too loud to quiet on your own. — Cindy Kuzma, SELF, "6 Useful Tips for Combating Food Guilt and Shame," 12 Mar. 2021 Avery's competitive nature led to extended moments of jawing and at least two instances where officials had to quiet the talking. — Tyler J. Davis, Detroit Free Press, "Emoni Bates, Ypsi Prep outlast scrappy DJ Avery, Dohn Prep: 3 observations from intense game," 8 Mar. 2021 More than enough to quiet those left scratching their head when the Bulls made Patrick Williams a surprise No.4 overall pick in the draft. — Jamal Collier, chicagotribune.com, "What went right and what went wrong? Taking stock of the Chicago Bulls roster at the NBA midseason.," 6 Mar. 2021 In the past few years, a number of high-quality studies have started to unearth the existence of spiritual narcissism and self-enhancement among spiritual practices that purport to quiet the ego. — Scott Barry Kaufman, Scientific American, "The Science of Spiritual Narcissism," 4 Jan. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quiet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of quiet

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Adverb

1573, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

History and Etymology for quiet

Noun

Middle English quiet, quiete, borrowed from Anglo-French quiete, borrowed from Latin quiēt-, quiēs "repose, sleep, rest, peaceful conditions," going back to Indo-European *k^wi̯eh₁-ti-, noun derivative of a verbal base *k^wi̯eh₁- "have a rest," whence Avestan š́iiā- "be glad," Old Church Slavic počijǫ, počiti "to have a rest" (causative pokojǫ, pokoiti "to calm, quiet"), Armenian hangeaw "has rested," and (from deverbal *k^wi̯eh₁-to-) Avestan š́iiāta- "peaceful, happy," Old Persian šiyāta-, Latin quiētus "at rest, quiet entry 2"

Adjective

Middle English quyet, quyete, quiete, borrowed from Anglo-French & Middle French quiete, borrowed from Latin quiētus "at rest, inactive, peaceful" — more at quiet entry 1

Adverb

derivative of quiet entry 2

Verb

Middle English quieten, borrowed from Late Latin quiētāre "to become quiet, make quiet, put to rest," derivative of Latin quiētus "at rest, quiet entry 2"

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Last Updated

2 May 2021

Cite this Entry

“Quiet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quiet. Accessed 7 May. 2021.

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More Definitions for quiet

quiet

noun

English Language Learners Definition of quiet

(Entry 1 of 3)

: the quality or state of being quiet or calm

quiet

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of quiet (Entry 2 of 3)

: making very little noise

: not talking

: tending not to talk very much

quiet

verb

English Language Learners Definition of quiet (Entry 3 of 3)

chiefly US : to make (someone or something) quieter, calmer, or less intense

See the full definition for quiet in the English Language Learners Dictionary

quiet

noun

qui·et | \ ˈkwī-ət

Kids Definition of quiet

(Entry 1 of 4)

: the quality or state of being calm or without noise Can we please have some quiet?

quiet

adjective

quieter; quietest

Kids Definition of quiet (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : free from noise or uproar One step, two steps, onward they went … down that long, long quiet room.— Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks

2 : marked by little or no motion or activity : calm quiet seas

3 : not disturbed : peaceful a quiet lunch

4 : tending not to talk or show excitement much a quiet child a quiet disposition

5 : not shown in an obvious way quiet determination

6 : away from public view : secluded a quiet corner

quiet

adverb

Kids Definition of quiet (Entry 3 of 4)

: in a quiet manner : quietly The engine runs quiet.

quiet

verb

quieted; quieting

Kids Definition of quiet (Entry 4 of 4)

: to make or become calmer or less noisy She tried to quiet the crowd.

quiet

adjective

qui·et

Legal Definition of quiet

(Entry 1 of 2)

: free from disturbance, interference, or dispute (as from an adverse claim) quiet enjoyment of property

quiet

transitive verb

Legal Definition of quiet (Entry 2 of 2)

: to establish or make (title) secure by means of an action that produces a final determination of the respective rights of parties who are in dispute over property — compare cloud on title

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