1
a
: making no utterance : not speaking or making noise
He was silent for a full minute, as he often is when answering a hard question.—
Nick Seitz
Nick SeitzThey all fell silent, looking rather scared.—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
b
: tending to speak very little : not loquacious
As a former silent person, part of me gravitates to talkers.—Georgia Brown
Georgia BrownWhen ABC's promos boast the crime unit portrayed here is not "your father's FBI," it's insinuating that dad's FBI agents were balding, nerdy guys or the stereotypical strong, silent types.—Ken Parish Perkins
Ken Parish Perkins2
: free from sound or noise : still
The house was eerily silent.
3
: performed or borne without utterance : unspoken
silent prayer
silent grief
4
a
: making no mention
history is silent about this person
b
: not widely or generally known or appreciated
the silent pressures on a person in public office
c
: making no protest or outcry
the silent majority
5
: unpronounced
the silent b in doubt
6
medical
a(1)
: not exhibiting or producing the usual signs or symptoms of presence
silent urinary tract infections
A "silent stroke" has none of the warning signs of a larger stroke: severe headaches, dizziness, loss of motor skills. Often victims do not realize they have had strokes.—Alisha Berger
Alisha Berger
(2)
: relating to or being an infectious disease or pathogen that spreads undetected within a population
Chlamydia can cause fertility problems for women, but is generally asymptomatic, meaning the infection presents no immediate symptoms, said Dr. James Gaskell, health commissioner for the Athens City-County Health Department. As a result, it spreads quickly in dense populations like college campuses, he said. "It's a silent spreader, if you will," Gaskell said.—Sam Howard
Sam Howard
b
: being, involving, or caused by an asymptomatic or presymptomatic infectious individual
silent spread/transmission of contagious disease
Since a novel coronavirus first made its presence known in China, public health officials around the world have had one fervent hope: That people who are infected but not sick would pass the virus to others only rarely. That would give these silent spreaders no more than a bit part in driving a global outbreak. That hope is in danger of being dashed.—Melissa Healy
Melissa Healy7
a
: made without spoken dialogue
silent movies
b
: of or relating to silent movies
silently
adverb
silentness
noun
: a motion picture made without spoken dialogue
—usually used in plural
Synonyms
Examples of silent in a Sentence
Adjective
She was silent for a few minutes as she thought about how to answer him.
The crowd fell silent as the horrible news was read aloud.
My father was a very silent man.
He was the strong, silent type.
He said he would call me, but the phone was silent all day.
A long, silent pause followed her reply.
See More
Recent Examples on the WebWill Lanzoni, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2023
However, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, a close ally of Mr. Menendez’s, remained silent about the accusations and the calls for resignation.
—William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023
But while the Journal did run a companion podcast on the Exxon investigation, its editorial board and op-ed section stayed completely silent on the bombshell.
—Molly Taft, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2023
The Thai palace has remained largely silent as debate over Section 112 has intensified, though in 2020 then-Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said that Vajiralongkorn had urged authorities to refrain from charging people under the controversial law.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
Advertisement Kiffin will have to remain silent as the situation plays out in court.
—J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2023
Top Democrats have been largely silent on the controversial issue of Atlanta’s proposed 85-acre police and fire training facility slated to be built in unincorporated DeKalb County.
—Riley Bunch, ajc, 17 Sep. 2023
The crowd grew silent; everyone held hands, then raised them.
—Anumita Kaur, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Sep. 2023
There will be silent and live auctions, finger foods, and a meet and greet with the musicians from 6 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $27-$75.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
Vulture, 24 Jan. 2023
So the various greenhouses and whatnots were familiar to Martha-content enthusiasts as the vans quickly took us past the beautiful part of her property toward the far less handsome back end, where a near-silent feeding frenzy was underway.
—Curbed, 25 Apr. 2022
Unlike at Yankee Stadium, where fans stood in near-silent anticipation each time Judge went to the plate, spectators in Toronto remained seated, for the most part, during his at-bats.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2022
These fans were on Saraya’s side but went radio silent as soon as her promo veered into pro-woman territory.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022
Because the microphone was on, the sound echoed around the theater, which had gone pin-drop silent.
—Chris Jones, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2022
The app can still send audible alerts even if the phone is set to silent.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2022
The theme of the Fuji TV drama series silent debuted at No. 3 last week with 9,905,2947 weekly streams and racked up 18,116,526 this week (No. 1 for the metric), jumping 54.7 percent to climb to the top of the chart.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 26 Oct. 2022
But those who are simply hoping that staying silent is an effective, inoffensive solution will likely be disappointed in the long run.
—Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2022
See More
Adjective
By staying silent, the city may keep its distance from the agony of the shooting, and the fear and loss churned up by its wake.
—Will Lanzoni, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2023
However, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, a close ally of Mr. Menendez’s, remained silent about the accusations and the calls for resignation.
—William K. Rashbaum, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023
But while the Journal did run a companion podcast on the Exxon investigation, its editorial board and op-ed section stayed completely silent on the bombshell.
—Molly Taft, The New Republic, 22 Sep. 2023
The Thai palace has remained largely silent as debate over Section 112 has intensified, though in 2020 then-Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha said that Vajiralongkorn had urged authorities to refrain from charging people under the controversial law.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
Advertisement Kiffin will have to remain silent as the situation plays out in court.
—J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2023
Top Democrats have been largely silent on the controversial issue of Atlanta’s proposed 85-acre police and fire training facility slated to be built in unincorporated DeKalb County.
—Riley Bunch, ajc, 17 Sep. 2023
The crowd grew silent; everyone held hands, then raised them.
—Anumita Kaur, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Sep. 2023
There will be silent and live auctions, finger foods, and a meet and greet with the musicians from 6 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $27-$75.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
Noun
The Meahers, who own much of the land around Africatown, remain conspicuously off-screen and silent.
—Vulture, 24 Jan. 2023
So the various greenhouses and whatnots were familiar to Martha-content enthusiasts as the vans quickly took us past the beautiful part of her property toward the far less handsome back end, where a near-silent feeding frenzy was underway.
—Curbed, 25 Apr. 2022
Unlike at Yankee Stadium, where fans stood in near-silent anticipation each time Judge went to the plate, spectators in Toronto remained seated, for the most part, during his at-bats.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2022
These fans were on Saraya’s side but went radio silent as soon as her promo veered into pro-woman territory.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 10 Nov. 2022
Because the microphone was on, the sound echoed around the theater, which had gone pin-drop silent.
—Chris Jones, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2022
The app can still send audible alerts even if the phone is set to silent.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2022
The theme of the Fuji TV drama series silent debuted at No. 3 last week with 9,905,2947 weekly streams and racked up 18,116,526 this week (No. 1 for the metric), jumping 54.7 percent to climb to the top of the chart.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 26 Oct. 2022
But those who are simply hoping that staying silent is an effective, inoffensive solution will likely be disappointed in the long run.
—Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'silent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English sylent, from Latin silent-, silens, from present participle of silēre to be silent; akin to Goth anasilan to cease, grow calm
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
1929, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of silent was
in the 15th century
Phrases Containing silent
Dictionary Entries Near silent
Cite this Entry
“Silent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silent. Accessed 29 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
silent
adjective
si·lent
ˈsī-lənt
1
: not speaking
stood silent before the court
2
: tending not to say much
a very silent person
3
: free from sound or noise : still
4
: done or felt without speaking
silent reading
silent grief
5
a
: making no mention
history is silent about this incident
b
: not active in running a business
a silent partner
6
: not pronounced
silent "e" in "came"
the "b" in "doubt" is silent
7
: made without recorded sound
silent movies
silently
adverb
Medical Definition
silent
adjective
si·lent
ˈsī-lənt 
1
: not exhibiting or producing the usual signs or symptoms of presence
a silent urinary tract infection
silent gallstones
silent ischemia
2
: relating to or being an infectious disease or pathogen that spreads undetected within a population
Chlamydia can cause fertility problems for women, but is generally asymptomatic, meaning the infection presents no immediate symptoms, said Dr. James Gaskell, health commissioner for the Athens City-County Health Department. As a result, it spreads quickly in dense populations like college campuses, he said. "It's a silent spreader, if you will, Gaskell said.—Sam Howard
Sam Howard3
: being, involving, or caused by an asymptomatic or presymptomatic infectious individual
silent spread/transmission of infectious disease
silent spreaders of contagious disease
4
: yielding no detectable response to stimulation
—used especially of an association area of the brain
silent cortex
5
: having no detectable function or effect
silent DNA
silent genes
silently
adverb
Legal Definition
silent
adjective
si·lent
1
: making no utterance : resolved not to speak especially about a certain topic
the right to remain silent
2
: making no mention or account : omitting explanation and leaving questions unanswered
a criminal statute silent as to the requirement of intent
3
: taking no active part in the conduct of a business
a silent member of a firm
see also silent partner at partner
More from Merriam-Webster on silent
Nglish: Translation of silent for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of silent for Arabic Speakers
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