mute 1 of 3

adjective

ˈmyüt How to pronounce mute (audio)
Definition of mutenext
1
as in speechless
unable to speak the child is both deaf and mute because her hearing was lost at birth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in silent
deliberately refraining from speech remained mute no matter how much we pleaded for an answer

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

mute

2 of 3

noun

as in quieter
a device on a musical instrument that deadens or softens its tone I was practicing my trumpet at three in the morning when the mute fell out, and I managed to wake everyone up

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mute

3 of 3

verb

1
as in to silence
to stop the noise or speech of muted the television while she was on the phone

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to muffle
to deaden the sound of closing the windows muted the traffic noise so we could get to sleep

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mute
Adjective
The man stared at the Ukrainian soldiers for a moment, attentive to the mouths of those mute men talking over each other. — Samanta Schweblin, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2025 Some elements, such as the emoji, mute, and screen share buttons, are at the bottom of the video client, while others, such as the chat module and participant list, are at the top right. — PCMAG, 10 Mar. 2025
Noun
Idealizing the beauty of the bucolic landscape often minimizes the labor tied to it, and so Yu disrupts any sense of the natural world as mute and pleasant. — Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2021 Lenin, too, suffered from manic rage and erratic behavior, and died in his early fifties confined to a wheelchair after multiple strokes left him mute and paralyzed. — Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 1 Apr. 2016
Verb
Mortgage rates, however, were little changed the last month, which kept home loan demand muted . — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2025 The song was rapturously received by pop fans and critics alike, but the commercial response to it was distinctly muted — seemingly leaving Gomez unsure of what to do next. — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 27 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mute
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mute
  1. speechless
  2. silent
  3. silence
  4. muffle
  5. damper
  6. shush
  7. quiet
  8. dumb
Adjective
  • In helicopter video taken by Air Maui Helicopter Tours in Lahaina and posted online the people aboard are largely speechless.
    — Phil Helsel, NBC News, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Because his work, as is often the case, leaves us almost speechless.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2023
Definition of speechless
Adjective
  • So far, the ESA has been silent on Trump excluding video game consoles from his tariff exemptions.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The Taliban are also silent on the other restrictions and whether there is any chance of removing them.
    — Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Definition of silent
Verb
  • But he wasn’t deterred by the crown’s agenda to silence all critics.
    — Emily Zarevich, JSTOR Daily, 4 Apr. 2025
  • For the past year and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim community at Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity from Microsoft.
    — Jordan Novet,Hayden Field, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
Definition of silence
Verb
  • The blustery winds muffled the clank of wheels and thud of hooves.
    — Andrew Lawler, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025
  • And the babble of their dog voices was muffled by the distance and the folds of the canyons.
    — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 27 Feb. 2025
Definition of muffle
Noun
  • For one, the Los Angeles fires put a slight damper on the energy.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 4 Feb. 2025
  • The catastrophic Southern California wildfires, combined with winter storms and the presidential inauguration, have put an understandable damper on the latest leg of awards season, with most of this year’s Oscar contenders stepping back from the usual campaigning in recent weeks.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 23 Jan. 2025
Definition of damper
Verb
  • One day at the Scottish Open, a volunteer held up the quiet sign and shushed the crowd as Morikawa prepared to hit from the fairway.
    — Brody Miller, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Fathers shushed babbling toddlers as their wives snuck out to change infants’ diapers.
    — Carlos Nogueras Ramos, Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2025
Definition of shush
Verb
  • And even a reassuring jobs report on Friday morning — with employers adding more jobs than expected last month — couldn't quiet widespread market fears about the outlook for the post-tariffs economy.
    — Maria Aspan, NPR, 4 Apr. 2025
  • With the need to quiet the world just enough to feel again.
    — Bill Schiffmiller, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
Definition of quiet
Verb
  • Where conspiracies dumb us down to eventually believe that nothing is actually true?
    — S.E. Cupp, New York Daily News, 4 Feb. 2025
  • To dumb it down, think about how action figures of the past had limited points of articulation.
    — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2024
Definition of dumb

Browse Nearby Words

mutations
mute
muted
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Cite this Entry

“Mute.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mute. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on mute

Nglish: Translation of mute for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mute

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