silver
noun · adjective · verb
Simple meaning
A shiny light gray color.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
silverSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsɪlvɚ
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.
noun
A shiny light gray color.
collectively
Coins made from silver or any similar white metal.
collectively
Any items made from silver or any other white metal.
collectively
A soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
uncountable
A lustrous, white, metallic element, atomic number 47, atomic weight 107.87, symbol Ag.
A trophy made of silver (or having the appearance of silver) that is usually awarded for winning second place in a competition
adjective
Made from another white metal.
Having the clear, musical tone of silver; soft and clear in sound.
Denoting the twenty-fifth anniversary, especially of a wedding.
of commercial services
Premium, but inferior to gold.
Pertaining or relating to elderly persons.
Having a color like silver: a shiny gray.
verb
To polish like silver; to impart a brightness to, like that of silver.
To acquire a silvery colour.
Make silver in color
“Her worries had silvered her hair.”
Turn silver
“The man's hair silvered very attractively.”
To cover with silver, or with a silvery metal.
To make hoary, or white, like silver.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: a shiny light gray color.
Used this way, silver 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
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- silver gray , rarer, so it draws attention
- silver grey , 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.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Tropical American fern having fronds with white undersides.
Any of various true firs having leaves white or silvery white beneath.
Red fox in the color phase when its pelt is tipped with white.
Of Australia and New Zealand.
A light shade of grey.
A light shade of grey.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Tableware made of silver or silver plate or pewter or stainless steel.
Plate with silver.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
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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.