See Also: silent(dictionary)
silent(dictionary)
silent gap(medicine)
Silent(medicine)
silent majority(dictionary)
Silent substitution(health)
Silent ischemia(health)
Silent partner(finance)
Silent Partner(money)
silent period(medicine)

silent (iou)



silent adjective & noun. L15.
[Latin silent- pres. ppl stem of silere be silent: see -ENT.]
A. adjective.
Refraining from speech; speechless, mute; (of an animal) not making its natural sound. Also, reserved, taciturn. L15.
G. Greene He could..work better when she talked than when she was silent. W. March Reginald was silent until they passed out of earshot; then he talked once more.
b. fig. Of a quality, emotion, etc.: not manifesting itself. E17.
Characterized or marked by absence of speech; done, experienced, etc., without speaking. L16.
A. C. Clarke A silent communion between them which they did not wish to break with words. G. Gordon I'd rather you said it..than..boil with silent rage.
b. Of a letter: not pronounced though present in the spelling of a word. E17.
c. Unmentioned; unrecorded. rare. E17.
d. Of a cinema film: without a synchronized soundtrack. Also, of or pertaining to such a film or films. E20.
Characterized or marked by the absence of sound; making or emitting no sound; (of machinery etc.) operating with little or no noise. L16.
Day Lewis This part of the garden..was always silent. New York Review of Books The effects of the slump in the silent shipyards of Merseyside.
Of a speaker, writer, book, etc.: omitting mention or discussion of a particular subject; offering no account or record. Freq. foll. by as to, on, etc. E17.
E. A. Freeman As to the other shire..history is equally silent.
Inactive, quiescent; spec. (a) (of the moon) not shining; (b) (of distilled spirit) unflavoured; (c) (of a perfume, flower, spice, etc.) lacking scent; (d) Medicine producing no detectable signs or symptoms. M17.
British Medical Journal Our results show a silent peripheral neuropathy..concomitant with the HIV infection.
Phrases & special collocations: as silent as the grave (of a place) extremely quiet; (of a person) secretive, discreet. silent cop Austral. slang a small, usu. hemispherical, concrete marker set in the centre of a road or crossroads to direct the flow of traffic. silent dog whistle, silent whistle a high-frequency whistle producing a note audible to a dog but not (usually) to a person. silent heat Veterinary Medicine ovulation occurring without discernible signs of oestrus. silent majority those people holding, but rarely expressing or asserting, moderate opinions. silent partner N. Amer. = sleeping partner s.v. SLEEPING ppl adjective. silent whistle: see silent dog whistle above. strong silent type a person (esp. a man) who controls or conceals emotion.
b. noun.
The time of silence. rare (Shakes.). Only in L16.
A device for stopping a clock from striking or an alarm from sounding. M19.
A silent film. E20.
silentish adjective (rare) M18.
silently adverb L16.
silentness noun the fact or condition of silence; an instance of this: E17.