mute
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mute
silent; refraining from speech; incapable of speech; to deaden or muffle the sound of
Not to be confused with:
moot – debatable; undecided: a moot point; disputable, unsettled
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
mute
(myo͞ot)adj. mut·er, mut·est
1. Refraining from producing speech or vocal sound.
2.
a. Offensive Unable to speak.
b. Unable to vocalize, as certain animals.
3. Expressed without speech; unspoken: a mute appeal.
4. Law Declining to enter a plea to a criminal charge: standing mute.
5. Linguistics
a. Not pronounced; silent, as the e in the word house.
b. Pronounced with a temporary stoppage of breath, as the sounds (p) and (b); plosive; stopped.
n.
1. Offensive One who is incapable of speech.
2. Law A defendant who declines to enter a plea to a criminal charge.
3. Music Any of various devices used to muffle or soften the tone of an instrument.
4. Linguistics
a. A silent letter.
b. A plosive; a stop.
tr.v. mut·ed, mut·ing, mutes
1. To soften or muffle the sound of.
2. To soften the tone, color, shade, or hue of.
[Middle English muet, from Old French, from diminutive of mu, from Latin mūtus.]
mute′ly adv.
mute′ness n.
Usage Note: In reference to people who are unable to speak, mute and deaf-mute are now usually considered objectionable. Unlike blind and deaf, which are straightforward terms that need not be avoided out of fear of causing offense, mute and deaf-mute have fallen out of use and are likely to evoke older stereotypes of helplessness or pitiableness. They are especially objectionable if taken to imply that a person who cannot or does not use oral speech is thereby deprived of language. Many people who lack the ability to speak now converse through ASL or similar sign languages, which have the same communicative utility as spoken language. See Usage Note at deaf.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
mute
(mjuːt)adj
1. not giving out sound or speech; silent
2. (Pathology) offensive unable to speak; dumb
3. unspoken or unexpressed: mute dislike.
4. (Law) law (of a person arraigned on indictment) refusing to answer a charge
5. (Phonetics & Phonology) phonetics another word for plosive
6. (Phonetics & Phonology) (of a letter in a word) silent
n
7. (Pathology) offensive a person who is unable to speak
8. (Law) law a person who refuses to plead when arraigned on indictment for an offence
9. (Instruments) any of various devices used to soften the tone of stringed or brass instruments
10. (Phonetics & Phonology) phonetics a plosive consonant; stop
11. (Phonetics & Phonology) a silent letter
12. (Theatre) an actor in a dumb show
13. a hired mourner at a funeral
vb (tr)
14. (Instruments) to reduce the volume of (a musical instrument) by means of a mute, soft pedal, etc
15. (Art Terms) to subdue the strength of (a colour, tone, lighting, etc)
[C14: muwet from Old French mu, from Latin mūtus silent]
ˈmutely adv
ˈmuteness n
Usage: Using mute to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive and should be avoided. The phrase profoundly deaf is a suitable alternative in many contexts
mute
(mjuːt)vb
(Zoology) (of birds) to discharge (faeces)
n
(Zoology) birds' faeces
[C15: from Old French meutir, variant of esmeltir, of Germanic origin; probably related to smelt1 and melt]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
mute
(myut)adj. mut•er, mut•est, adj.
1. silent; refraining from speech or utterance.
2. not emitting or having sound of any kind.
3. incapable of speech.
4. (of letters) silent; not pronounced.
5. Law. (of a person who has been arraigned) making no plea or refusing to stand trial: to stand mute.
n. 6. a person who does not speak, esp. one who, because of congenital deafness, has never learned to speak.
7. Law. a person who stands mute when arraigned.
8. a mechanical device for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.
v.t. 10. to deaden or muffle the sound of.
11. to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color.
[1375–1425; Middle English muet < Middle French, assimilated, in the 16th century, to Latin mūtus mute]
mute′ly, adv.
mute′ness, n.
usage: See dumb.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Mute
pack of hounds—Bk. of St. Albans, 1486.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
mute
Past participle: muted
Gerund: muting
| Imperative |
|---|
| mute |
| mute |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. |  mute - a deaf person who is unable to speakdeaf person - a person with a severe auditory impairment dummy, silent person - a person who does not talk |
| 2. | mute - a device used to soften the tone of a musical instrument acoustic device - a device for amplifying or transmitting sound | |
| Verb | 1. |  mute - deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrappingsoften - make (images or sounds) soft or softer |
| Adj. | 1. | mute - expressed without speech; "a mute appeal"; "a silent curse"; "best grief is tongueless"- Emily Dickinson; "the words stopped at her lips unsounded"; "unspoken grief"; "choking exasperation and wordless shame"- Thomas Wolfe inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry" |
| 2. | mute - unable to speak because of hereditary deafness inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
mute
adjective
1. close-mouthed, silent, taciturn, tongue-tied, tight-lipped, unspeaking He was mute, distant and indifferent.
3. dumb, speechless, voiceless, unspeaking, aphasic, aphonic The duke's daughter became mute after a shock.
verb
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
mute
adjective1. Temporarily unable or unwilling to speak, as from shock or fear:
2. Lacking the power or faculty of speech:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
صامِتغَيْر مَنْطوق بهلا يَسْتَطيع الكلام، أخْرَس
глухоням
němýneznělá hláska
stum
äänetönhiljentäämykistäämykkävaientaa
hangfogónémaszordínó
mállausòögull
bežadisnebylusnetariamas
mēmsmēms, bezvārdu-neizrunājams
nevyslovený
nemnemanemo
sordinstumtyst
mute
[mjuːt]Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
mute
adj → stumm (also Ling); amazement, rage → sprachlos; mute (Comput: command) → Ton aus; to be mute about something → über etw (acc) → schweigen; to sit mute → schweigend dasitzen; he was mute with rage → er brachte vor Wut kein Wort heraus
n
(= dumb person) → Stumme(r) mf
(= hired mourner) → Totenkläger m; (= woman) → Klageweib nt
(Mus) → Dämpfer m
vt → dämpfen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
mute
(mjuːt) adjective1. unable to speak; dumb.
2. silent. She gazed at him in mute horror.
3. (of a letter) not sounded in certain words. The word `dumb' has a mute `b' at the end.
ˈmutely adverbKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
mute
n. mudo-a.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
mute
adj & n mudo -da mfEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.