1(of a sound or voice) quiet and soft.

1. 1.1 (of a musical instrument) having a muffled sound as a result of being fitted with a mute.
   Example sentencesExamples

   • The bassoonist made the piece a thing of beauty, accompanied by the three harps and muted strings.
   • The sudden modulation brings a galaxy of woodwind delights against muted, pointed strings.
   • Elsewhere muted trumpets enter the mix evoking images of the American southwest.
   • Quiet strings, piano and muted organ provide the background for the majority of the hushed tracks.
   • The former is a jazz march parody that layers high-pitched whistling flute over a muted trumpet and slow, rolling drum hits.
   • Pasted-in bursts of muted cymbal and guitar are stabbed and splashed against it.
   • Soft-toned trumpets and horns enter, menacing minor-key interchanges leading to high flute and muted trombones at the close.
   • The brass and strings are muted, and the music hovers on the edge of inaudibility; there are no dynamic outbursts at all.
   • There is something liberating in the familiar keyboard inflections, earnest handclaps and muted but driving drums.
   • For example, ‘Lent’ is the song with the muted trumpet in the verse, some kickass beats and some freaky guitar work.
   • McDonald treats the song, bathed in gliding strings and muted horns, as an impressionist tone poem.
   • You will hear the leader's muted trumpet with reed backing on the first chorus.
   • Langorous horns, ticking guitars and muted keyboards have been added, sketching out long, graceful arcs of melody over the bubbling rhythms.
   • This stripped-down affair featured singer Kelly Jones on acoustic guitar, accompanied by piano, muted electric guitar and electric bass.
   • The guitars are flat and muted, the vocals spare and disaffected, and the theatrical, climactic scream-along choruses are absent.
   • Guitars are coated in reverb and delay, and in the distance muted drums pop and clunk along.
   • He sings it and throws it away as a party piece, with Wynton growling away on a rather intrusive muted trumpet.
   • What comes, instead of the dials being turned up a notch or two, is that a muted trumpet joins in.
   • Dressed with little more than the occasional industrial splurt, Maynard sings almost exclusively in hushed tones and the guitars are all but muted throughout.
   • ‘Scarlet Woman’ steals in with a plangent sax call, muted desert drum and synthesized wind and slowly steals away again.
2. 1.2 Not expressed strongly or openly.
   muted anger

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Perceptions are muted and muddled, the passions cool, and thoughts drift to the dreary.
   • For me it wasn't that easy; my emotional outpouring was muted, or perhaps nonexistent.
   • The band went along to some of the small pro-democracy rallies in the city, but opposition was muted.
   • This is more an expression of muted anger.
   • She glared at him as she pulled down a coffee cup and slammed it down onto the counter with muted anger.
   • The opposition ranged from fierce anger to muted dissent.
   • That anger isn't going to go away, however muted or buried it may become.
   • But the resistance was weak, the outcry muffled, the outrage muted.

   Synonyms

   muffled, faint, indistinct, quiet, soft, softened, low, dull

   hushed, whispered, lowered, stifled, suppressed
3. 1.3 (of colour or lighting) not bright; subdued.
   a dress in muted tones of powder blue and dusty pink

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Extroverts often prefer red and bright colors, while introverts opt for muted hues, such as blues and violets.
   • There are bolts of taupe fabric draped on the windows, and the lighting is muted.
   • That period of time between dusk and night creates some beautiful shapes and shadows as well as muted colours.
   • Downstairs is dominated by a slick bar, muted colours, mismatched furniture and a dark slate floor.
   • The aquarelle painting on the wall and the muted lighting really make you feel at home.
   • Construction of the extension, which will be in muted colours and fully landscaped, will begin in late August, on completion of legal agreements.
   • The muted colours come through clearly and crisply and the occasional uses of bright colours are faithfully rendered.
   • The colours are muted so that the chocolates and greens sit perfectly with the faded pink and antique blue.
   • First there were a host of tiles, partitions and wall coverings to enhance the look of the room with splashes of bright colour, muted hues and soft lighting.
   • Here's a corner that I liked because of the muted colours and textures.
   • The dining room is filled with modern furniture, muted lighting and roomy booths, though the other tables are quite tight.
   • Seven weeks' hard labour, muted colours and Gustavian furniture have given this city flat a country air.
   • With muted lighting and comfy leather sofas it has its discreet corners but it's better to be out in the open for A-list celeb spotting.
   • Pashmina shawls are usually bright red, green, muted beige, or oatmeal in color.
   • His style became less angular, tending towards graceful curves, and he used subtle muted colours, sometimes mixing sand with his paint to produce a textured effect.
   • He added that the extension had been designed to ensure it was unobtrusive on the skyline, using muted colours and including landscaping.
   • I know it's a residential area, but I'd keep it tasteful, use muted colours and so forth.
   • As always I marvelled at the display of texture and muted colour that would humble the most dazzling painter.
   • The colours are bright yet muted, as often found in relatively low budget productions.
   • Her butterfly and figurative prints, with their muted colour palette, have a delicate vintage look.

   Synonyms

   subdued, pastel, delicate, faded, dusty, subtle, toned down, understated, discreet, unobtrusive, restrained, low-key