mute
adjective · noun · verb
Simple meaning
Not having the power of speech.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
myootIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmjut
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not having the power of speech; dumb.
Silent; not making a sound.
Not uttered; unpronounced; silent; also, produced by complete closure of the mouth organs which interrupt the passage of breath; said of certain letters.
Not giving a ringing sound when struck; said of a metal.
noun
A deaf person who is unable to speak
A person who does not have the power of speech.
A hired mourner at a funeral; an undertaker's assistant.
An electronic switch or control that mutes the sound.
A mute swan.
verb
transitive
To turn off the sound of.
transitive
To silence, to make quiet.
transitive
To cast off; to moult.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not having the power of speech; dumb.
Used this way, mute is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- tongueless , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.