silent – English adjective declension

English adjective forms of silent

Adjective: silent

Comparison Forms

Synthetic

Comparativesilenter
Superlativesilentest

Perifrastic

Comparativemore silent
Superlativemost silent

Sample Sentences

  • How silent is this town! [c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:]
  • What was formerly performed by fleets and armies, by invasions, sieges, and battles, has been of late accomplished by more silent methods. [1825, Samuel Johnson, Arthur Murphy, The Works of Samuel Johnson, Talboys and Wheeler, page 52]
  • The voice of the auctioneer is slow and low […]; after a pause, which seems no silenter than the rest of the transaction, he ceases to repeat the bids, and his fish, in the measure of a bushel or so, have gone for a matter of three shillings. [1906, William Dean Howells, Sidney Dillon Ripley, Certain Delightful English Towns: With Glimpses of the Pleasant Country Between, Harper & Brothers, page 152:]
  • Ulysses, adds he, was the most eloquent and most silent of men. [1725–1726, Homer, “(please specify the book or chapter of the Odyssey)”, in [William Broome, Elijah Fenton, Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:]
  • This new-created world, whereof in hell / Fame is not silent. [1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:]
  • Tothero is silent before replying. His great strength is in these silences; he has the disciplinarian's trick of waiting a long moment while his words gather weight. [1960, John Updike, 'Rabbit, Run', page 38:]
  • The winds were silent, all the waves asleep, / And heaven was trac'd upon the flattering deep [a. 1718, Thomas Parnell, Hesiod; or, the Rise of Woman:]
  • The e is silent in fable.
  • Silent letters can make some words difficult to spell.
  • The l in the English word salmon is silent.
  • Cause […] silent, virtueless, and dead. [1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):]
  • My phone was on silent.
  • The Magnavox Odyssey was a silent console.
  • a silent voter; a silent partner
  • silent revisions; a silent emendation
  • [T]he use of both acknowledged and unacknowledged (silent) translations of non-English sources makes it difficult for users to determine if a certain term genuinely appeared in an English-language text. [2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography, volume 31, number 4, →DOI, page 496:]

Adjectives inflected like silent

wholsom, seldom, scared, solemn, silent, beloved, uptight, perfect, useless, up-tight, selfish, distinct, discreet, Dutch, reckless, bumfuck, worthless, slender, faithfull, shallow, etc. (List truncated at 20 adjectives)

Etymology

From Latin silēns (“silent”), present participle of sileō (“be silent”), from Proto-Indo-European *seyl- (“still, windless, quiet, slow”). Related to Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌰𐌽 (anasilan, “to cease, grow still, be silent”), Old English sālnes (“silence”).