What does "mute" mean?
A stopped consonant; a stop.
Mute
adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·1 syllable ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A stopped consonant; a stop.
- Grammar: mute is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abiotic, absolute quiet, acoustic tile, allophone.
- Useful contrasts: audible, nonmute, talkative.
- Usage evidence: A girl quietly approached the pair's workplace. The girl did so quietly — though to be accurate, she was a mute.
How to use "mute"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mute" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mute" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "mute" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mute" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "mute" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abiotic" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mute", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A stopped consonant; a stop. obsolete
- 2 The faeces of a hawk or falcon.
"On which was written not in words, But hieroglyphic mute of birds"
- 3 a device used to soften the tone of a musical instrument wordnet
- 4 An actor who does not speak; a mime performer. obsolete
"As for the poor honest Maid, whom all the Story is built upon, and who ought to be one of the principal Actors in the Play, she is commonly a Mute in it:"
- 5 a deaf person who is unable to speak wordnet
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A person who does not have the power of speech.
"The girl left, and presently returned, followed by two male mutes, to whom the Queen made another sign."
- 7 A hired mourner at a funeral; an undertaker's assistant.
"He asked about the undertaking business, and how many mutes went down with Lady Estrich’s remains […]"
- 8 An object for dulling the sound of an instrument, especially a brass instrument, or damper for pianoforte; a sordine.
- 9 An electronic switch or control that mutes the sound.
"Another related primary control is called a mute, which is simply a switch that kills the signal altogether, allowing for a speedier turn-off than turning the fader all the way down rapidly. Mutes are probably more commonly used during multitrack music recording than during film mixing because in music all tracks are on practically all of the time, whereas workstations produce silence when there is no desired signal […]"
- 10 A mute swan.
"The trumpeters' fate seems likely to get tangled with that of the mute swan. Currently there's enough habitat for both species, but that may change if trumpeters flourish and mutes aren't controlled. Right now mutes are thriving."
- 11 An action of muting, especially in a discussion forum as a penalty for breaking rules. Internet
Verb
- 1 To silence, to make quiet. transitive
- 2 Of a bird: to defecate. archaic
"I Mute as a hauke dothe whan ſhe hath endued her gorge."
- 3 To cast off; to moult. transitive
"Have I muted all my feathers?"
- 4 deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping wordnet
- 5 To turn off the sound of. transitive
"Please mute the music while I make a call."
Adjective
- 1 Not having the power of speech; dumb.
"Thus, while the mute Creation downward bend / Their sight, and to their Earthy Mother tend, / Man looks aloft; and with erected Eyes / Beholds his own hereditary Skies. / From ſuch rude Principles our Form began; / And Earth was Metamorphos'd into Man."
- 2 Silent; not making a sound.
"He ask’d, but all the Heav’nly Quire ſtood mute, / And ſilence was in Heav’n: […]"
- 3 Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; said of certain letters.
- 4 Not giving a ringing sound when struck; said of a metal.
Adjective
- 1 unable to speak because of hereditary deafness wordnet
- 2 expressed without speech wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"A girl quietly approached the pair's workplace. The girl did so quietly — though to be accurate, she was a mute."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mute"?
Common synonyms include: abiotic, absolute quiet, acoustic tile, allophone, alveolar, anaudic.
How do you use "mute" in a sentence?
A girl quietly approached the pair's workplace. The girl did so quietly — though to be accurate, she was a mute.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English muet, from Anglo-Norman muet, moet, Middle French muet, from mu (“dumb, mute”) + -et, remodelled after Latin mūtus.
Etymology 2
From Middle French muetir, probably a shortened form of esmeutir, ultimately from Proto-Germanic.
Etymology 3
From Latin mutare (“to change”).