| 释义 |
adjective mjuːtmjut 1Refraining from speech or temporarily speechless. 强忍着不说话的；缄默的；一时说不出话的 Harry sat mute, his cheeks burning resentfully Example sentencesExamples - ‘She used to be big as a horse,’ one of the officers said to a colleague, who nodded in mute admiration.
- The police were mute spectators to the entire incident which took place right outside the KEM hospital.
- All the while the police remained a mute spectator only trying to ensure that fatal injuries were not inflicted.
- I was thereafter keen to attend the classes with my brother, if only as a mute spectator.
- With this anti-intellectual attitude, I ought to be mute every time I detect scientific ignorance in a movie's story or set design.
- Police officers remained mute spectators as pedestrians, bikers, car drivers, autodrivers and other road users waited out the jams under a bright January sun.
- These intensive singing sessions are exactly that as I discovered one Tuesday evening recently, sitting in mute admiration.
- They stood mute spectators when irate employees chased the Vice-Chancellor of a university around the State Assembly.
- At first, the watchers, except the most determined walkers and the really serious lovers, remain mute spectators.
- The rest of the crowded carriage watched in mute silence.
- The director appears in the last shot of all the stories, a mute spectator who is a symbol of society, which is portrayed as having become insensitive to everything.
- Perhaps, accustomed as he was to hearing such queries and taunts by the driver, the conductor remained a mute spectator.
- In both the cases, the public remained mute spectators.
Synonyms silent, speechless, dumb, unspeaking, wordless, voiceless, tongue-tied, at a loss for words, tight-lipped, close-mouthed, taciturn, uncommunicative informal mum archaic mumchance - 1.1 Not expressed in speech.
不用语言表达的，无声的 she gazed at him in mute appeal 她对他凝眸直视，无声地求助。 Example sentencesExamples - The range was unique in that every golf range I've ever been to has golf balls lying around within a dozen feet or so of the practice tees - mute evidence of the ineptitude of those whaling away.
- Sara stared down at the letter in mute astonishment.
- When they returned home two hours later, they discovered Chris's mattress on the floor and almost in the hallway, mute testimony to the haste with which he grabbed his son out of bed.
- She stood in mute shock, dresses draped over her arm.
- They opposed the 16th century Spanish conquest and remained in a state of mute resistance over the years, exploding in rebellion at the end of the 18th century.
- It is easy to imagine the fear and rage and grief of the combatants, harder to see it in the cool press briefings of the leaders who make war and the often mute suffering of the populations who must endure and support it.
- Dean Stockwell is often overlooked in his portrayal of Walt, but he has a difficult job here, playing off Travis's mute determination, and he succeeds admirably.
- Mrs. Willis rolled her eyes toward Heaven in a mute appeal for help, while Adam laughed, put down a bag, and pushed the door open.
- An uncomfortable silence fell over the room and Andy quietly sat, her chin lifted in mute defiance, as her mother and stepfather stared at her.
- With mute excitement I quickly snapped it up, paid and exited the store - only to suddenly realise that Durgnat wasn't the author I had in mind when I whipped his book off the shelf.
- We stood and stared blankly at it in mute amazement.
- But many of the faithful, concluding that there is no smoke without fire, are simply averting their gaze in mute despair.
- He stomped his foot to the floor and quite suddenly drew a gun to the air - the former chuckles from the crowd instantly transformed to a collectively mute distress.
- In the ground floor restaurants, every meal attracts a crowd of kids who press their faces against the glass in a mute appeal for food.
- These beliefs may be wrong - the innocent who are indicted nevertheless may sit by in mute horror, and husbands who lose their families in one fell swoop may be frozen in depression as a result.
- I've seen, as have we all, theft, fraud, intimidation, malversation - and seen it with such regularity that its absence provokes not comment but mute wonder.
- Of course, there was the flood of hormones which evoked embarrassed silence (and mute curses) from him; but more importantly, he knew nothing about her.
- He crumbles before the mute appeal in his fellow musician's eye: ‘It felt like kicking a spaniel.’
- So she constructs a fantastic house of cards as a mute statement - an apparent attempt to connect with her family and explain her annoying behavior.
- He looked at me in mute appeal as if I was a rope held out to a falling person.
Synonyms wordless, silent, dumb, tacit, unspoken, inarticulate, unvoiced, unsaid, unexpressed, unuttered - 1.2 Characterized by an absence of sound; quiet.
无声的；宁静的 the great church was mute and dark 宏伟的教堂里静悄悄，黑魆魆的。 Example sentencesExamples - He didn't bother lifting his hand to search the extensive marble wall for the light switch as he removed his boots and his bare feet dragged slowly into the massive mute darkness before him.
- We are not here to consider the appeal of mute ruins, the hollowness of reason, the veneer of American order.
- As she climbs she warily eyes dozens of tiny, mute silhouettes outlined against the windowpanes - flies awaiting the warmth of the day.
- Above him, attached to the wall, were 25 manual typewriters with rusted and missing parts, mute relics of an antiquated era in communication.
Synonyms quiet, silent, noiseless, soundless, hushed - 1.3 (of hounds) not giving tongue while hunting.
（猎犬）追猎时不吠叫的
2dated, offensive (of a person) lacking the faculty of speech. 〈旧〉（人）哑的 he'd been bullied into silence—people often wondered if he was actually mute Synonyms dumb, unable to speak technical aphasic, aphonic 3(of a letter) not pronounced. （字母）哑音的，无音的 mute e is generally dropped before suffixes beginning with a vowel 哑音e通常在以元音开始的后缀前省略掉。
noun mjuːtmjut 1dated, offensive A person lacking the faculty of speech. 〈旧〉哑巴 the child remained as silent as a mute - 1.1historical (in some Asian countries) a servant who was deprived of the power of speech.
〈史〉（一些亚洲国家的）哑奴，哑仆 - 1.2historical An actor in a dumbshow.
〈史〉哑剧演员 - 1.3historical A professional attendant or mourner at a funeral.
〈史〉受雇的送葬人，以送葬为业者
2A clamp placed over the bridge of a stringed instrument to deaden the resonance without affecting the vibration of the strings. （装在弦乐器琴马上的）夹头式弱音器 - 2.1 A pad or cone placed in the opening of a brass or other wind instrument to soften the sound.
（装在管乐器管口的垫式或圆锥体）弱音器 Example sentencesExamples - The cone-shaped device looks like a trumpet mute.
- He said there was the possibility that the disappearance of the items, which also included four red and blue glitter hats, several brass mutes and three wooden music rests, was a mistake.
- On woodwinds, a cloth bag has sometimes been tied over the instrument, and small pear-shaped wooden mutes were made to fit into 18th-century oboe bells.
- She laughed at how they were both carrying trumpets, only one had a mute in the other hand.
- The cash paid for music, a PA system and mutes for the brass section.
3A device on a television, telephone, or other appliance that temporarily turns off the sound. 消声器，弱音器 Example sentencesExamples - It's also important to put your television on mute to make the most of the experience.
- I was in my room, alone in the house once again, watching the television on mute.
- I had the television - a football game halftime show - on mute in my room.
- The twenty-three year old man was going through photos, the television on mute as he picked up a magazine.
- The cars, the people, even birds flying through the sky were moving at a super fast pace, but the sound was on mute.
- Maximillian watched her until she disappeared into the lift before he took the mute off the sound system.
- It's so close, again, that when you hear the crowds roar on the television and then hit mute, you can still hear the crowds roar, even through closed windows.
- ‘Him’, I point at the screen as I grab the remote to turn the mute off.
- Then the show came back on and the television was taken off mute.
- The larger screen served at the moment as a television outlet on mute.
- Now I know that the sound of a TV on mute is an ultra high frequency sound.
- It has volume control, mute and push-to-talk buttons all within one housing.
- Aimée nodded absently and sat down beside her friend just as she heard the front door open, but ignored it and took the mute off the television.
- After getting hurriedly dressed, she went to the television, put the sound on mute, and headed to a loud rock channel.
- Tony flicked on the TV too, but kept the sound on mute as he entered the chat room for the scheduled hack.
- The T.V. went to commercial and Jaime grabbed the remote to turn the mute on.
- He then quietly crept downstairs to get himself a drink, consciousness now having taken a hold on him, and then he flicked around the television channels on mute until his parents woke up.
- There are also in-use indicator lights for both talk and mute, and when mute is engaged, the user hears a ‘beep’ as an audible reminder.
- Now she speaks but without a sound, like the television personalities on mute.
verb mjuːtmjut [with object]1Deaden, muffle, or soften the sound of. 消除…的声音；减轻…的声音 her footsteps were muted by the thick carpet 厚厚的地毯减轻了她的脚步声。 Example sentencesExamples - The third can at least be muted by some dampening, and by putting sufficient thought into case design and component layout to minimise sympathetic vibrations.
- The shutter locked into place, muting sounds of the waking town.
- His mouth covered hers again, muting all but her most desperate of squeaks.
- Then again, it was a pretty windy day, and voices were muted by the sound of the wind.
- Vaguely, he heard church bells from the city strike their hours, their clear sound muted by the snow and by the rose curtain draped partially over the study window.
- The ground was hard and brown and rocky, parched, but the caw of birds from a nearby grove of olive trees muted the sound of my footsteps.
- Sounds are muted with dull explosions and gunfire, and the music is very dreary.
- ‘The thick curtains also help mute the sound of our son's rock band rehearsals,’ says Hertz.
- Instead, she fell face-first into her pillow, let out a small shriek of delight that she hoped the pillow would mute, and finally looked up.
- But, of course, when we cook there is no sound mixer to mute the sounds of the bacon sizzling or the sauce gurgling.
- Words were difficult to pick out, muted by the thick metal door.
- For a moment, every sound was muted by the pressure of the water, of bubbles kicked up by her uninvited presence.
- So you may not be able to completely mute the sound of the ticking clock or the voices telling you you don't know what you're doing.
- This mutes equipment noise and greatly reduces heat loss.
- She screamed into the pillow pulled over her head to mute the sound.
Synonyms deaden, muffle, mask, dull, dampen, damp down, soften, quieten, silence stifle, smother, suppress, lower, reduce, diminish, decrease - 1.1 Muffle the sound of (a musical instrument), especially by the use of a mute.
用弱音器减弱（乐器）的声音 when muted and blown hard the trombone produces a very nasal and metallic sound Example sentencesExamples - The guitarists spend much of the show muting their strings and one of them actually sits out on a few songs, sparing the music of any clutter.
- The ‘buff stop’ on harpsichords and early pianos, operated by a hand-lever or a pedal, mutes the strings by pressing pads of felt or leather against the them.
- Use a keyboard which has shortcut keys for instantly muting the sound though.
- To keep the drums from becoming overpowering onstage and in the mix, they were muted with a set of SoundOff drum set silencers.
- 1.2 Reduce the strength or intensity of.
〈喻〉减弱；缓和 his professional contentment was muted by personal sadness 他职业上的满足感被母亲去世所带来的悲哀冲淡了。 Example sentencesExamples - He has aged remarkably well, his manic oddness (which I have always been utterly charmed by) muted by experience and dry wit.
- An author can be in danger of stifling and muting their own work, taking from it any autonomous identity.
- By using blue filters that mute the intensity of bright colors, he gives his film a stark, wintry feel.
- Right now, they don't think they can win this fight so they're muting their attacks on Roberts.
- But the celebrations were muted by news that they are unlikely ever to see their children again.
- My relief at learning that I'd be staying in the same place as previous years was muted by the realization that this was the end of the line.
- The reduced attention to politics mutes the most important way in which individual human agency drives human experience.
- It is too early to tell if such aggressive measures will mute the violence or stoke it.
- Any exuberence felt was muted by that dull pain of having hurt someone I care deeply for.
- Surprisingly Jack was a subtle presence; muting her usual impact and actually helping them do their jobs.
- Thankfully, the painkillers were muting the pain in my belly down to a dull ache.
- You probably don't want to go too light on the effect here, because the next steps will soften the grain and mute its effect.
- But he muted his enthusiasm when it appeared that the stance might hurt his party in the elections.
Synonyms restrain, soften, subdue, tone down, make less intense, moderate, temper, soft-pedal
UsageTo describe a person without the power of speech as mute (especially as in deaf mute) is today likely to cause offence and the term is often regarded as outdated. Nevertheless, there is no directly equivalent term for mute in general use, apart from speech-impaired. Profoundly deaf may be used to imply that a person has not developed any spoken language skills Derivativesadverb ˈmjuːtliˈmjutli I mutely watched as a silent battle of wills raged between the two, glad for once I wasn't a part of it. Example sentencesExamples - I nod mutely and watch as she exits, closing the door softly behind her.
- The girl continued to gaze back at him mutely, expressing no reaction.
- We both nodded mutely and silently returned to the den to talk it over with each other.
- Jim held onto his father and kept staring mutely into the microphone.
noun ˈmjuːtnəsˈmjutnəs Because we are all Canadians, and therefore painfully polite, he mistakes our bemused muteness for rapt attention. Example sentencesExamples - Ursula, I had learned, was not quiet and silent because of her muteness.
- He had suddenly developed selective muteness in school for days or even a whole week at a time on five different documented occasions since the previous October.
- Pardon, I am traveling with a girl that had been cursed by muteness.
- My unusual muteness must have made him wonder if I was having second thoughts.
OriginMiddle English: from Old French muet, diminutive of mu, from Latin mutus. Rhymesacute, argute, astute, beaut, Beirut, boot, bruit, brut, brute, Bute, butte, Canute, cheroot, chute, commute, compute, confute, coot, cute, depute, dilute, dispute, flute, galoot, hoot, impute, jute, loot, lute, minute, moot, newt, outshoot, permute, pollute, pursuit, recruit, refute, repute, route, salute, Salyut, scoot, shoot, Shute, sloot, snoot, subacute, suit, telecommute, Tonton Macoute, toot, transmute, undershoot, uproot, Ute, volute noun mjuːtmjut archaic A pack of hounds. the abbot had a mute of hounds Example sentencesExamples - He ordered them to stay the proceedings for the recovery of a horse with a saddle and bridle, a hat, a cloak, a ring, a cup, and a mute of hounds.
- Wellington's modest mute of hounds accompanied their owner on his journey.
- This mute of hounds, dashing all over the pace, split the morning air with enough hideous din to frighten any fox out of the commune.
OriginLate Middle English: from Anglo-Norman mut, mute, moute 'pack of hounds trained for hunting', from Latin movere 'to move'. adjectivemjutmyo͞ot 1Refraining from speech or temporarily speechless. 强忍着不说话的；缄默的；一时说不出话的 Irene, the talkative one, was now mute 那个碎嘴子艾琳这会儿却不做声了。 Example sentencesExamples - The director appears in the last shot of all the stories, a mute spectator who is a symbol of society, which is portrayed as having become insensitive to everything.
- These intensive singing sessions are exactly that as I discovered one Tuesday evening recently, sitting in mute admiration.
- They stood mute spectators when irate employees chased the Vice-Chancellor of a university around the State Assembly.
- All the while the police remained a mute spectator only trying to ensure that fatal injuries were not inflicted.
- ‘She used to be big as a horse,’ one of the officers said to a colleague, who nodded in mute admiration.
- In both the cases, the public remained mute spectators.
- At first, the watchers, except the most determined walkers and the really serious lovers, remain mute spectators.
- Police officers remained mute spectators as pedestrians, bikers, car drivers, autodrivers and other road users waited out the jams under a bright January sun.
- The rest of the crowded carriage watched in mute silence.
- Perhaps, accustomed as he was to hearing such queries and taunts by the driver, the conductor remained a mute spectator.
- I was thereafter keen to attend the classes with my brother, if only as a mute spectator.
- With this anti-intellectual attitude, I ought to be mute every time I detect scientific ignorance in a movie's story or set design.
- The police were mute spectators to the entire incident which took place right outside the KEM hospital.
Synonyms silent, speechless, dumb, unspeaking, wordless, voiceless, tongue-tied, at a loss for words, tight-lipped, close-mouthed, taciturn, uncommunicative - 1.1 Not expressed in speech.
不用语言表达的，无声的 she gazed at him in mute appeal 她对他凝眸直视，无声地求助。 Example sentencesExamples - Mrs. Willis rolled her eyes toward Heaven in a mute appeal for help, while Adam laughed, put down a bag, and pushed the door open.
- In the ground floor restaurants, every meal attracts a crowd of kids who press their faces against the glass in a mute appeal for food.
- They opposed the 16th century Spanish conquest and remained in a state of mute resistance over the years, exploding in rebellion at the end of the 18th century.
- It is easy to imagine the fear and rage and grief of the combatants, harder to see it in the cool press briefings of the leaders who make war and the often mute suffering of the populations who must endure and support it.
- He stomped his foot to the floor and quite suddenly drew a gun to the air - the former chuckles from the crowd instantly transformed to a collectively mute distress.
- So she constructs a fantastic house of cards as a mute statement - an apparent attempt to connect with her family and explain her annoying behavior.
- But many of the faithful, concluding that there is no smoke without fire, are simply averting their gaze in mute despair.
- When they returned home two hours later, they discovered Chris's mattress on the floor and almost in the hallway, mute testimony to the haste with which he grabbed his son out of bed.
- With mute excitement I quickly snapped it up, paid and exited the store - only to suddenly realise that Durgnat wasn't the author I had in mind when I whipped his book off the shelf.
- Dean Stockwell is often overlooked in his portrayal of Walt, but he has a difficult job here, playing off Travis's mute determination, and he succeeds admirably.
- He crumbles before the mute appeal in his fellow musician's eye: ‘It felt like kicking a spaniel.’
- He looked at me in mute appeal as if I was a rope held out to a falling person.
- These beliefs may be wrong - the innocent who are indicted nevertheless may sit by in mute horror, and husbands who lose their families in one fell swoop may be frozen in depression as a result.
- Of course, there was the flood of hormones which evoked embarrassed silence (and mute curses) from him; but more importantly, he knew nothing about her.
- The range was unique in that every golf range I've ever been to has golf balls lying around within a dozen feet or so of the practice tees - mute evidence of the ineptitude of those whaling away.
- Sara stared down at the letter in mute astonishment.
- She stood in mute shock, dresses draped over her arm.
- An uncomfortable silence fell over the room and Andy quietly sat, her chin lifted in mute defiance, as her mother and stepfather stared at her.
- We stood and stared blankly at it in mute amazement.
- I've seen, as have we all, theft, fraud, intimidation, malversation - and seen it with such regularity that its absence provokes not comment but mute wonder.
Synonyms wordless, silent, dumb, tacit, unspoken, inarticulate, unvoiced, unsaid, unexpressed, unuttered - 1.2 Characterized by an absence of sound; quiet.
无声的；宁静的 the great church was mute and dark 宏伟的教堂里静悄悄，黑魆魆的。 Example sentencesExamples - He didn't bother lifting his hand to search the extensive marble wall for the light switch as he removed his boots and his bare feet dragged slowly into the massive mute darkness before him.
- As she climbs she warily eyes dozens of tiny, mute silhouettes outlined against the windowpanes - flies awaiting the warmth of the day.
- Above him, attached to the wall, were 25 manual typewriters with rusted and missing parts, mute relics of an antiquated era in communication.
- We are not here to consider the appeal of mute ruins, the hollowness of reason, the veneer of American order.
Synonyms quiet, silent, noiseless, soundless, hushed
2offensive, dated (of a person) lacking the faculty of speech. 〈旧〉（人）哑的 3(of a letter) not pronounced. （字母）哑音的，无音的 mute e is generally dropped before suffixes beginning with a vowel 哑音e通常在以元音开始的后缀前省略掉。
nounmjutmyo͞ot 1offensive, dated A person lacking the faculty of speech. 〈旧〉哑巴 - 1.1historical (in some Asian countries) a servant who was deprived of the power of speech.
〈史〉（一些亚洲国家的）哑奴，哑仆 - 1.2historical An actor in a dumbshow.
〈史〉哑剧演员 - 1.3historical A professional attendant or mourner at a funeral.
〈史〉受雇的送葬人，以送葬为业者
2A clamp placed over the bridge of a stringed instrument to deaden the resonance without affecting the vibration of the strings. （装在弦乐器琴马上的）夹头式弱音器 - 2.1 A pad or cone placed in the opening of a brass or other wind instrument to soften the sound.
（装在管乐器管口的垫式或圆锥体）弱音器 Example sentencesExamples - He said there was the possibility that the disappearance of the items, which also included four red and blue glitter hats, several brass mutes and three wooden music rests, was a mistake.
- The cash paid for music, a PA system and mutes for the brass section.
- The cone-shaped device looks like a trumpet mute.
- She laughed at how they were both carrying trumpets, only one had a mute in the other hand.
- On woodwinds, a cloth bag has sometimes been tied over the instrument, and small pear-shaped wooden mutes were made to fit into 18th-century oboe bells.
3A device on a television, telephone, or other appliance that temporarily turns off the sound. 消声器，弱音器 she put the remote on mute Example sentencesExamples - Now she speaks but without a sound, like the television personalities on mute.
- ‘Him’, I point at the screen as I grab the remote to turn the mute off.
- It has volume control, mute and push-to-talk buttons all within one housing.
- Then the show came back on and the television was taken off mute.
- It's so close, again, that when you hear the crowds roar on the television and then hit mute, you can still hear the crowds roar, even through closed windows.
- The cars, the people, even birds flying through the sky were moving at a super fast pace, but the sound was on mute.
- I was in my room, alone in the house once again, watching the television on mute.
- I had the television - a football game halftime show - on mute in my room.
- He then quietly crept downstairs to get himself a drink, consciousness now having taken a hold on him, and then he flicked around the television channels on mute until his parents woke up.
- The larger screen served at the moment as a television outlet on mute.
- There are also in-use indicator lights for both talk and mute, and when mute is engaged, the user hears a ‘beep’ as an audible reminder.
- Now I know that the sound of a TV on mute is an ultra high frequency sound.
- Maximillian watched her until she disappeared into the lift before he took the mute off the sound system.
- Aimée nodded absently and sat down beside her friend just as she heard the front door open, but ignored it and took the mute off the television.
- Tony flicked on the TV too, but kept the sound on mute as he entered the chat room for the scheduled hack.
- The twenty-three year old man was going through photos, the television on mute as he picked up a magazine.
- It's also important to put your television on mute to make the most of the experience.
- The T.V. went to commercial and Jaime grabbed the remote to turn the mute on.
- After getting hurriedly dressed, she went to the television, put the sound on mute, and headed to a loud rock channel.
verbmjutmyo͞ot [with object]1Deaden, muffle, or soften the sound of. 消除…的声音；减轻…的声音 her footsteps were muted by the thick carpet 厚厚的地毯减轻了她的脚步声。 Example sentencesExamples - Vaguely, he heard church bells from the city strike their hours, their clear sound muted by the snow and by the rose curtain draped partially over the study window.
- This mutes equipment noise and greatly reduces heat loss.
- Words were difficult to pick out, muted by the thick metal door.
- But, of course, when we cook there is no sound mixer to mute the sounds of the bacon sizzling or the sauce gurgling.
- The third can at least be muted by some dampening, and by putting sufficient thought into case design and component layout to minimise sympathetic vibrations.
- Then again, it was a pretty windy day, and voices were muted by the sound of the wind.
- So you may not be able to completely mute the sound of the ticking clock or the voices telling you you don't know what you're doing.
- For a moment, every sound was muted by the pressure of the water, of bubbles kicked up by her uninvited presence.
- Sounds are muted with dull explosions and gunfire, and the music is very dreary.
- The shutter locked into place, muting sounds of the waking town.
- Instead, she fell face-first into her pillow, let out a small shriek of delight that she hoped the pillow would mute, and finally looked up.
- She screamed into the pillow pulled over her head to mute the sound.
- The ground was hard and brown and rocky, parched, but the caw of birds from a nearby grove of olive trees muted the sound of my footsteps.
- His mouth covered hers again, muting all but her most desperate of squeaks.
- ‘The thick curtains also help mute the sound of our son's rock band rehearsals,’ says Hertz.
Synonyms deaden, muffle, mask, dull, dampen, damp down, soften, quieten, silence - 1.1 Muffle the sound of (a musical instrument), especially by the use of a mute.
用弱音器减弱（乐器）的声音 when muted and blown hard the trombone produces a very nasal and metallic sound Example sentencesExamples - The ‘buff stop’ on harpsichords and early pianos, operated by a hand-lever or a pedal, mutes the strings by pressing pads of felt or leather against the them.
- The guitarists spend much of the show muting their strings and one of them actually sits out on a few songs, sparing the music of any clutter.
- To keep the drums from becoming overpowering onstage and in the mix, they were muted with a set of SoundOff drum set silencers.
- Use a keyboard which has shortcut keys for instantly muting the sound though.
- 1.2 Reduce the strength or intensity of.
〈喻〉减弱；缓和 his professional contentment was muted by personal sadness 他职业上的满足感被母亲去世所带来的悲哀冲淡了。 Example sentencesExamples - But he muted his enthusiasm when it appeared that the stance might hurt his party in the elections.
- You probably don't want to go too light on the effect here, because the next steps will soften the grain and mute its effect.
- Any exuberence felt was muted by that dull pain of having hurt someone I care deeply for.
- Surprisingly Jack was a subtle presence; muting her usual impact and actually helping them do their jobs.
- Right now, they don't think they can win this fight so they're muting their attacks on Roberts.
- He has aged remarkably well, his manic oddness (which I have always been utterly charmed by) muted by experience and dry wit.
- It is too early to tell if such aggressive measures will mute the violence or stoke it.
- By using blue filters that mute the intensity of bright colors, he gives his film a stark, wintry feel.
- Thankfully, the painkillers were muting the pain in my belly down to a dull ache.
- An author can be in danger of stifling and muting their own work, taking from it any autonomous identity.
- The reduced attention to politics mutes the most important way in which individual human agency drives human experience.
- But the celebrations were muted by news that they are unlikely ever to see their children again.
- My relief at learning that I'd be staying in the same place as previous years was muted by the realization that this was the end of the line.
Synonyms restrain, soften, subdue, tone down, make less intense, moderate, temper, soft-pedal
UsageTo describe a person without the power of speech as mute (especially as in deaf-mute) is today likely to cause offense and is often regarded as outdated. Nevertheless, there is no directly equivalent term for mute in general use, apart from speech-impaired. The term profoundly deaf may be used to imply that a person has not developed any spoken language skills OriginMiddle English: from Old French muet, diminutive of mu, from Latin mutus. nounmjutmyo͞ot archaic A pack of hounds. the abbot had a mute of hounds Example sentencesExamples - He ordered them to stay the proceedings for the recovery of a horse with a saddle and bridle, a hat, a cloak, a ring, a cup, and a mute of hounds.
- This mute of hounds, dashing all over the pace, split the morning air with enough hideous din to frighten any fox out of the commune.
- Wellington's modest mute of hounds accompanied their owner on his journey.
OriginLate Middle English: from Anglo-Norman mut, mute, moute ‘pack of hounds trained for hunting’, from Latin movere ‘to move’. |