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View synonyms for quiet

quiet

[ kwahy-it ]

adjective

, qui·et·er, qui·et·est.
  1. making no noise or sound, especially no disturbing sound:

    quiet neighbors.

  2. free, or comparatively free, from noise:

    a quiet street.

    Antonyms: noise, noisy

  3. Be quiet!

  4. restrained in speech, manner, etc.; saying little:

    a quiet person.

  5. free from disturbance or tumult; tranquil; peaceful:

    a quiet life.

    Synonyms: serene, calm

    Antonyms: disturbance

  6. being at rest.
  7. refraining or free from activity, especially busy or vigorous activity:

    a quiet Sunday afternoon.

  8. making no disturbance or trouble; not turbulent; peaceable:

    The factions remained quiet for twenty years.

  9. motionless or moving very gently:

    quiet waters.

    Synonyms: unmoving

    Antonyms: active

  10. free from disturbing thoughts, emotions, etc.; mentally peaceful:

    a quiet conscience.

  11. said, expressed, done, etc., in a restrained or unobtrusive way:

    a quiet reproach;

    a quiet admonition.

  12. not showy or obtrusive; subdued:

    quiet colors.

  13. not busy or active:

    The stock market was quiet last week.



verb (used with object)

  1. to make quiet.

    Synonyms: silence, hush, still

  2. to make tranquil or peaceful; pacify:

    to quiet a crying baby.

    Synonyms: soothe, lull

  3. to calm mentally, as a person.
  4. to allay (tumult, doubt, fear, etc.).

    Synonyms: soothe, lull

  5. to silence.

verb (used without object)

  1. to become quiet (often followed by down ).

noun

  1. freedom from noise, unwanted sound, etc.:

    At least there's quiet here.

    Synonyms: silence

  2. freedom from disturbance or tumult; tranquility; rest; repose:

    This little beach is known for its quiet, but today a rowdy group of tourists is having a clambake.

    Synonyms: stillness, calm

  3. peace; peaceful condition of affairs.

quiet

/ ˈkwaɪət /

adjective

  1. characterized by an absence or near absence of noise

    a quiet street

  2. characterized by an absence of turbulent motion or disturbance; peaceful, calm, or tranquil

    a quiet glade

    the sea is quiet tonight

  3. free from activities, distractions, worries, etc; untroubled

    a quiet life

    a quiet day at work

  4. marked by an absence of work, orders, etc; not busy

    the factory is very quiet at the moment

  5. private; not public; secret

    a quiet word with someone

  6. free from anger, impatience, or other extreme emotion

    a quiet disposition

  7. free from pretentiousness or vain display; modest or reserved

    quiet humour

  8. See active
    astronomy (of the sun) exhibiting a very low number of sunspots, solar flares, and other surface phenomena; inactive Compare active


noun

  1. the state of being silent, peaceful, or untroubled
  2. on the quiet
    on the quiet without other people knowing; secretly

verb

  1. a less common word for quieten

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Derived Forms

  • ˈquietness, noun

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Other Words From

  • qui·et·er noun
  • qui·et·ly adverb
  • qui·et·ness noun
  • un·qui·et·ed adjective
  • un·qui·et·ing adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of quiet1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English adjective quiet(e), quite, from Old French quiet, quiete, and Latin quiētus, past participle of quiescere “to rest, rest in sleep, rest from toil”; Middle English verb quieten, partly derivative of the adjective, partly from Late Latin quiētāre “to calm,” derivative of quiētus; coy, quiescent

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Word History and Origins

Origin of quiet1

C14: from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere to rest, from quiēs repose, rest

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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with quiet , also see keep quiet ; peace and quiet .

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Synonym Study

See still 1.

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Example Sentences

Ford labels “Engage” as the normal drive mode, while “Whisper” is the quiet mode where the car produces less of the artificial “engine noise” that tells the driver what’s happening with the drivetrain.

Glass beads are washable, quiet, and tend to retain less heat than plastic, which is great for hot sleepers.

In this recording of a fin whale’s song in 2012, sped up 10 times, each loud call is followed by a series of quieter echoes.

After a quiet period, the last three months of 2020 saw yet another sharp rise as the currency’s value more than tripled—and it’s still climbing.

When we were kids, my mother loved the movie Mortal Kombat, so I remember me and my brother playing in our room and it’s dead quiet.

From Ozy

When Marvin tells this story, he gets quiet, and you can see the way it must have been.

What, I suspect, we really want from Santa is peace (and quiet) at home for the holidays.

They made quiet plans together, saying that when they had a child together, they wanted a girl called Grace.

The inauguration had to be held in the fortified Kremlin, surrounded by an eerily quiet city.

But shh shhh shh, you have to be quiet about it or they will make me take it off.

This Captain Kirton was really the best of the Kirton bunch: a quiet, unassuming young man, somewhat delicate in health.

Their discipline is admirable, but their natural disposition is likewise quiet and inoffensive.

It is the quiet chef lieu of the Allier, and was once the capital of the Bourbonnais.

The menace of a thunder-cloud approached as in his childhood's dream; disaster lurked behind the quiet outer show.

He went blindly down the street, turned at the corner and sought a quiet place, a livery barn.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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quiescent tankquiet as a mouse