| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024mute /myut/USA pronunciation adj., mut•er, mut•est, n., v., mut•ed, mut•ing. adj. - silent;
not having or giving off any sound:They were mute when I asked them who was the thief. - incapable of speech;
dumb:mute from birth. - Phonetics(of letters) silent;
not pronounced:The letter "e'' is mute in the word "come.''
n. [countable] - a person incapable of speech.
- Music and Dancea mechanical device for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.
v. [~ + object] - to deaden or muffle the sound of.
- to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color:The colors are more muted in the bedroom.
mute•ly, adv. : They stood by mutely, unable or unwilling to answer. mute•ness, n. [uncountable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024mute (myo̅o̅t),USA pronunciation adj., mut•er, mut•est, n., v., mut•ed, mut•ing. adj. - silent;
refraining from speech or utterance. - not emitting or having sound of any kind.
- incapable of speech;
dumb. - Phonetics(of letters) silent;
not pronounced. - 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).
- Sport[Fox Hunting.](of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.
n. - a person incapable of speech.
- Show Businessan actor whose part is confined to dumb show.
- Lawa person who stands mute when arraigned.
- Music and DanceAlso called sordino. a mechanical device of various shapes and materials for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.
- Phoneticsa stop.
- British Termsa hired mourner at a funeral;
a professional mourner.
v.t. - to deaden or muffle the sound of.
- to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color.
- Latin mūtus) + unexplained suffix -et; compare -et
- Middle French, equivalent. to Old French mu (
- Latin mūtus dumb; replacing Middle English muet
- 1325–75
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged still. See dumb.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged talkative.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: mute /mjuːt/ adj - not giving out sound or speech; silent
- unable to speak; dumb
- unspoken or unexpressed
- (of a person arraigned on indictment) refusing to answer a charge
- another word for plosive
- (of a letter in a word) silent
n - a person who is unable to speak
- a person who refuses to plead when arraigned on indictment for an offence
- any of various devices used to soften the tone of stringed or brass instruments
- a plosive consonant; stop
- a silent letter
- an actor in a dumb show
- a hired mourner at a funeral
vb (transitive)- to reduce the volume of (a musical instrument) by means of a mute, soft pedal, etc
- to subdue the strength of (a colour, tone, lighting, etc)
Etymology: 14th Century: muwet from Old French mu, from Latin mūtus silentˈmutely adv ˈmuteness n USAGE
Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive and should be avoided. The phrase profoundly deaf is a suitable alternative in many contexts |