1
as in speechless
deliberately refraining from speech
the suddenly silent child had to be prompted to say hello
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in reserved
tending not to speak frequently (as by habit or inclination)
a naturally silent boy, he was often overshadowed by his louder siblings
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in quieted
mostly or entirely without sound
the room was so silent that you could have heard the proverbial pin drop
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in talkie
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silent
Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
There would be no airbrushing of the old photos, no silent emendation of the letters from summer camp.
—James Marcus, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
As American filmmaking was transitioning from silents to sound in the late 1920s, the industry itself was growing more conservative.
—Hazlitt, 6 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for silent
Adjective
Sounds of loud trilling shouts after silent hunts, and singing.
—Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025
There would be no airbrushing of the old photos, no silent emendation of the letters from summer camp.
—James Marcus, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
Chaplin’s run of silents continued into the talkie era.
—Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
As American filmmaking was transitioning from silents to sound in the late 1920s, the industry itself was growing more conservative.
—Hazlitt, 6 Sep. 2023
See All Example Sentences for silent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silent
Adjective
-
In helicopter video taken by Air Maui Helicopter Tours in Lahaina and posted online the people aboard are largely speechless.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC News,
10 Aug. 2023
-
Because his work, as is often the case, leaves us almost speechless.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
10 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
Understandably excited, Quayle couldn’t resist a playful shoulder punch to the older, reserved Bush, who smiled awkwardly.—
Time,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
-
There are general admission, reserved tickets and box seating viewing areas.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In a wordless visual dialogue, the director recreates Poland’s history from the World War I to the present day.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
-
She’s played by Zoey Deutch, whose gift for wordless communication is in full flower here.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That doesn’t explain the physical dominance that feels more restrained these days.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Using restrained color palettes, natural materials, and touches of drama, Lind and her team at her eponymous firm bring out their clients’ unique personal styles to create homes perfectly suited to their lives.—
Elizabeth Stamp,
Architectural Digest,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
With stunning celerity, possibility becomes probability and then certainty, as readers reject the quiet, circuitous, and unglamorous narratives of prudential compromise, ambiguous diplomacy, or incremental progress.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Still, this isn’t about contemplation or quiet reflection.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The film was based on her Sundance-premiering short.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The team self-funded an initial short, which later won a Webby, then used a drop of 10,000 high-fidelity digital collectibles as a crowdfunding mechanism.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
That mute minute in an otherwise ever-bobbing, ever-shouting crowd (a portion of which camped outside the Spectrum Center) was a testament to Eilish’s ability to hold her own on a stage that — other than the occasional burst of fire and blitzing lights — had little frill.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Oct. 2025
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This Abel Ferrara cult classic follows a mute seamstress who goes on a revenge rampage after being attacked twice in one day on the streets of New York.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
After a brief talk with his stepson Brian (Samuel Bottomley), a taciturn young man with bloodied knuckles, Jem takes off on his motorbike, into a remote but, compared to his dull suburban home, lush and verdant wilderness.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
28 Sep. 2025
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Todd's second-ever screen role foretold his future prominence, as the taciturn Sgt.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Silent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silent. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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