quiet
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: enpr: kwī'ĭt
ipa: /ˈkwaɪ.ɪt/
note: weak vowel merger
enpr: kwī'ət
ipa: /ˈkwaɪ.ət/
note: weak vowel merger
rhymes: -aɪət
Forms: form: quieter
form: more quiet
form: quietest
form: most quiet
Etymology: From Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet (adjective) and quiete (noun), from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere (“to keep quiet, rest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“rest”). Doublet of coy, quit, quite, and quietus. Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound".
Senses: examples: text: I can't hear the music; it is too quiet.
text: On the light streets, better streetcleaners, more trees, more police, and quieter buses were the most popular improvements, followed by cutting down the number of cars and improving children's play space.
ref: 1982, Donald Appleyard, Livable Streets, page 98:
text: Before long, the unsuspecting salesman was earnestly pitching him "the quietest noisemaker on the market."
ref: 1999 May 4, William Safire, “Essay; The Quiet Noisemaker”, in The New York Times:
synonyms: hushed
muffled
antonyms: word: loud
word: quiet
word: silent
glosses: With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise.
examples: text: the sea was quiet
text: a quiet night at home
text: all quiet on the Western front
synonyms: word: placid
word: serene
word: calm
word: collected
word: composed
word: cool-headed
word: equable
word: equanimous
word: equanimitable
word: even-keeled
word: even-minded
word: even-tempered
word: imperturbable
word: laid-back
word: level-headed
word: mellow
word: pacate
word: pacific
word: peaceable
word: peaceful
word: phlegmatic
word: placid
word: quiescent
word: quiet
word: relaxed
word: roolie
word: sedate
word: serene
word: still
word: tranquil
word: unexcited
word: unfazed
word: unflappable
word: unflustered
word: unperturbable
word: unruffable
word: unruffled
word: untumultuous
glosses: Having little motion or activity; calm.
examples: text: The traffic was quiet for a Monday morning.
text: Business was quiet for the season.
text: It was a casual sneer, obviously one of a long line. There was hatred behind it, but of a quiet, chronic type, nothing new or unduly virulent, and he was taken aback by the flicker of amazed incredulity that passed over the younger man's ravaged face.
ref: 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 8, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
synonyms: word: slow
word: unbusy
word: abeyant
word: at rest
word: cessant
word: dormant
word: dull
word: fallow
word: idle
word: inactive
word: inert
word: languid
word: latent
word: nonactive
word: quiescent
word: silent
word: sedent
word: sedentary
word: slow
word: suspended
word: torpid
word: unactive
word: unbusy
word: unemployed
word: unoccupied
glosses: Not busy, of low quantity.
examples: text: He's a very quiet man usually, but is very chatty after a few beers.
synonyms: word: reticent
word: taciturn
word: reticent
word: unloquacious
word: untalkative
word: quiet
word: reserved
word: silent
word: silentious
antonyms: word: garrulous
word: prolix
word: curt
word: laconic
word: quiet
word: reserved
word: reticent
word: silent
word: taciturn
glosses: Not talking much or not talking loudly; reserved.
examples: text: a quiet dress
text: quiet colours
text: a quiet movement
synonyms: word: modest
word: plain
word: simple
word: aloof
word: cool
word: distant
word: frosty
word: hankty
word: hard-to-get
word: offish
word: quiet
word: remote
word: reserved
word: standoffish
word: strange
word: thorny
word: touch-me-not-ish
word: unapproachable
word: unbending
word: undemonstrative
word: unimpressionable
word: uninvolved
word: austere
word: bare
word: chaste
word: inornate
word: modest
word: plain
word: quiet
word: severe
word: simple
word: spartan
word: unadorned
word: unembellished
word: unextravagant
word: unornamented
word: undecked
word: ungarnished
word: untrimmed
word: unvarnished
glosses: Not showy; undemonstrative.
examples: text: a quiet install
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
software
synonyms: silent
unattended
glosses: Requiring little or no interaction.
Synonyms: word: faint
word: hushed
word: low
word: muffled
word: quiet
word: quiet as a grave
word: quiet as a mouse
word: quiet as a church mouse
word: soft
word: still
word: stifled
word: tranquil
Hypernyms: word: audible
Hyponyms: word: hoarse
word: husky
word: inaudible
word: mousy
word: whispered
Derived terms: all quiet on the Western Front
be quiet
bequiet
nonquiet
overquiet
Quaalude
quiet as a church mouse
quiet as a grave
quiet as a snowflake
quiet carriage
quiet cracking
quieten
quiet firing
quietful
quiet hands
quiet hiring
quietish
quietistic
quietless
quietlike
quiet luxury
quietly
quiet move
quietness
quiet quit
quiet quitting
quiet revolution
quiet room
quietsome
quiet storm
quietway
quiet zone
radioquiet
say the quiet part loud
say the quiet part out loud
so quiet one could hear a pin drop
so quiet you can hear a pin drop
superquiet
Related terms: word: gentle
word: susurrant
word: susurrous