mute

[ myoot ]

/ myut /

adjective, mut·er, mut·est.

silent; refraining from speech or utterance.

not emitting or having sound of any kind.

incapable of speech; dumb.

(of letters) silent; not pronounced.

Law. (of a person who has been arraigned) making no plea or giving an irrelevant response when arraigned, or refusing to stand trial (used chiefly in the phrase to stand mute).

Fox Hunting. (of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.

noun

Offensive. a person incapable of speech.

an actor whose part is confined to dumb show.

Law. a person who stands mute when arraigned.

Also called sordino. a mechanical device of various shapes and materials for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.

Phonetics. a stop.

British Obsolete. a hired mourner at a funeral; a professional mourner.

verb (used with object), mut·ed, mut·ing.

to deaden or muffle the sound of.

to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color.

Origin of mute

1325–75; < Latin mūtus dumb; replacing Middle English muet < Middle French, equivalent to Old French mu (< Latin mūtus) + unexplained suffix -et; cf. -et

ANTONYMS FOR mute

1 talkative.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR mute ON THESAURUS.COM

usage note for mute

See dumb.

OTHER WORDS FROM mute

mute·ly, adverb mute·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mute

moot mute

Words nearby mute

mutato nomine, mutazila, mutazilite, mutch, mutchkin, mute, mute swan, muted, mutein, mutha, muti

Example sentences from the Web for mute

Should Courage give up her war profiteering and settle down to run an honest pub—even if it means abandoning her mute girl?

Brecht's Mercenary Mother Courage Turns 75 |Katie Baker |September 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The same thing happens when her mute daughter, the sweet Kattrin, is shot as she tries to warn a hamlet of impending slaughter.

Brecht's Mercenary Mother Courage Turns 75 |Katie Baker |September 10, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
I presume most Republicans will be clever enough to mute impeachment talk before November.

The GOP’s Audacious Impeachment Spin Job |Michael Tomasky |July 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Kennedy proceeded on, having rendered Douglas mute as a result not of his position, but of his person.

Michael Daly: My Last Day With JFK |Michael Daly |November 11, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

The deaths of Lewis and Huxley were mute, private events, only reported in The Times three days later.

Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley |John Garth |November 3, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
For a moment the spectators of this awful disaster stood still in mute astonishment.

The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence |Eugne Sue
Janet Carey, standing in mute wonder like the rest of us, testified to this.

Johnny Ludlow, Third Series |Mrs. Henry Wood
These made their subjunctive in am, a termination which properly becomes the mute e of French.

Avril |H. Belloc
Its very legend proved that it had always been the mute accomplice, the incorruptible custodian of the mysteries it had surprised.

Tales Of Men And Ghosts |Edith Wharton
Carley not only was mute; she felt rise and burn in her a singular shame and surprise.

The Call of the Canyon |Zane Grey

British Dictionary definitions for mute (1 of 2)

mute ¹

/ (mjuːt) /

adjective

not giving out sound or speech; silent

unable to speak; dumb

unspoken or unexpressed mute dislike

law (of a person arraigned on indictment) refusing to answer a charge

phonetics another word for plosive

(of a letter in a word) silent

noun

a person who is unable to speak

law a person who refuses to plead when arraigned on indictment for an offence

any of various devices used to soften the tone of stringed or brass instruments

phonetics a plosive consonant; stop

a silent letter

an actor in a dumb show

a hired mourner at a funeral

verb (tr)

to reduce the volume of (a musical instrument) by means of a mute, soft pedal, etc

to subdue the strength of (a colour, tone, lighting, etc)

Derived forms of mute

mutely, adverb muteness, noun

Word Origin for mute

C14: muwet from Old French mu, from Latin mūtus silent

usage for mute

Using this word 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

British Dictionary definitions for mute (2 of 2)

mute ²

/ (mjuːt) archaic /

verb

(of birds) to discharge (faeces)

noun

birds' faeces

Word Origin for mute

C15: from Old French meutir, variant of esmeltir, of Germanic origin; probably related to smelt 1 and melt

Medical definitions for mute

mute

[ myōōt ]

adj.

Unable or unwilling to speak.

n.

One who does not have the faculty of speech. No longer in technical use; considered offensive.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

mute

adjective, mut·er, mut·est.

noun

verb (used with object), mut·ed, mut·ing.

Origin of mute

ANTONYMS FOR mute

usage note for mute

OTHER WORDS FROM mute

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mute

Words nearby mute

Example sentences from the Web for mute

British Dictionary definitions for mute (1 of 2)

adjective

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of mute

Word Origin for mute

usage for mute

British Dictionary definitions for mute (2 of 2)

verb

noun

Word Origin for mute

Medical definitions for mute

adj.

n.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

mute

adjective, mut·er, mut·est.

noun

verb (used with object), mut·ed, mut·ing.

Origin of mute

ANTONYMS FOR mute

usage note for mute

OTHER WORDS FROM mute

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mute

Words nearby mute

Words related to mute

Example sentences from the Web for mute

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for mute (1 of 2)

adjective

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of mute

Word Origin for mute

usage for mute

British Dictionary definitions for mute (2 of 2)

verb

noun

Word Origin for mute

Medical definitions for mute

adj.

n.

British Dictionary definitions for mute (1 of 2)