(quieter, quietest, quiets, quieting, quieted)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
Someone or something that is quiet makes only a small amount of noise.
Tania kept the children reasonably quiet and contented...
A quiet murmur passed through the classroom...
The airlines have invested enormous sums in new, quieter aircraft.
? noisy
ADJ
• quietly
'This is goodbye, isn't it?' she said quietly...
ADV: ADV with v
• quietness
...the smoothness and quietness of the flight.
N-UNCOUNT
2.
If a place is quiet, there is very little noise there.
She was received in a small, quiet office...
The street was unnaturally quiet.
? noisy
ADJ
• quietness
I miss the quietness of the countryside.
N-UNCOUNT
3.
If a place, situation, or time is quiet, there is no excitement, activity, or trouble.
It is very quiet without him...
While he wanted Los Angeles and partying, she wanted a quiet life...
ADJ
• quietly
His most prized time, though, will be spent quietly on his farm.
ADV: ADV with v
• quietness
I do very much appreciate the quietness and privacy here.
N-UNCOUNT
4.
Quiet is silence.
He called for quiet and announced that the next song was in our honor...
N-UNCOUNT
5.
If you are quiet, you are not saying anything.
I told them to be quiet and go to sleep...
ADJ: v-link ADJ
• quietly
Amy stood quietly in the doorway watching him.
ADV: ADV with v
6.
If you refer, for example, to someone's quiet confidence or quiet despair, you mean that they do not say much about the way they are feeling.
He has a quiet confidence in his ability...
ADJ: ADJ n
• quietly
Nigel Deering, the publisher, is quietly confident about the magazine's chances.
ADV: ADV adj
7.
You describe activities as quiet when they happen in secret or in such a way that people do not notice them.
The Swedes had sought his freedom through quiet diplomacy...
ADJ: ADJ n
• quietly
I slipped away quietly...
The goal of shifting freight from road to rail has been quietly abandoned...
ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj
8.
A quiet person behaves in a calm way and is not easily made angry or upset.
He's a nice quiet man.
= placid
ADJ
9.
If someone or something
quiets or if you
quiet them, they become less noisy, less active, or silent. (
mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use quieten
)
The wind dropped and the sea quieted...
Estela started to say something but a gesture from her husband quieted her at once.
VERB: V, V n
10.
To
quiet fears or complaints means to persuade people that there is no good reason for them. (
mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use quieten
)
Music seemed to quiet her anxiety and loneliness.
VERB: V n
11.
If someone does not go quietly, they do not leave a particular job or a place without complaining or resisting.
She's not going to go quietly.
PHRASE: V inflects
12.
If you keep quiet about something or keep something quiet, you do not say anything about it.
I told her to keep quiet about it...
PHRASE: V inflects
13.
If something is done on the quiet, it is done secretly or in such a way that people do not notice it.
She'd promised to give him driving lessons, on the quiet, when no one could see.
PHRASE: PHR after v