Muteness definition | Dictionary.com

mute

[myoot]

adjective, mut⋅er, mut⋅est, noun, verb, mut⋅ed, mut⋅ing.

–adjective

1.	silent; refraining from speech or utterance.

2.	not emitting or having sound of any kind.

3.	incapable of speech; dumb.

4.	(of letters) silent; not pronounced.

5.	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).

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

–noun

7.	a person incapable of speech.

8.	an actor whose part is confined to dumb show.

9.	Law. a person who stands mute when arraigned.

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

11.	Phonetics. a stop.

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

–verb (used with object)

13.	to deaden or muffle the sound of.

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

Origin:
1325–75; < L mūtus dumb; r. ME muet < MF, equiv. to OF mu (< L mūtus) + unexplained suffix -et; cf. -et

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mute (myōōt) Pronunciation Key
adj. mut·er, mut·est

Refraining from producing speech or vocal sound.
1. Often Offensive Unable to speak.
2. Unable to vocalize, as certain animals.
3. Not pronounced; silent, as the e in the word house.
4. Pronounced with a temporary stoppage of breath, as the sounds (p) and (b); plosive; stopped.
Expressed without speech; unspoken: a mute appeal.
Law Refusing to plead when under arraignment.
Linguistics
1. Not pronounced; silent, as the e in the word house.
2. Pronounced with a temporary stoppage of breath, as the sounds (p) and (b); plosive; stopped.

Often Offensive One who is incapable of speech.
Law A defendant who refuses to plead when under arraignment.
Music Any of various devices used to muffle or soften the tone of an instrument.
Linguistics
1. A silent letter.
2. A plosive; a stop.

tr.v. mut·ed, mut·ing, mutes

To soften or muffle the sound of.
To soften the tone, color, shade, or hue of.

[Middle English muet, from Old French, from diminutive of mu, from Latin mūtus.]
mute'ly adv., mute'ness n.

Usage Note: In reference to people who are unable to speak, mute and deaf-mute are now often considered objectionable. The offense is due not only to the bluntness of these terms but also to the implication that a person who is incapable of oral speech is necessarily deprived of the use of language. In fact, many deaf people today communicate naturally and fully through the use of a sign language such as ASL, and no one who has witnessed such a conversation would ever think to call the participants mute. See Usage Note at deaf.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

muteness
noun
1.	the condition of being unable or unwilling to speak; "her muteness was a consequence of her deafness" [syn: mutism]
2.	a refusal to speak when expected; "his silence about my contribution was surprising"

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Muteness

Mute"ness\, n. The quality or state of being mute; speechlessness.

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