Standard Lemma guide

muteness

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The characteristic of being mute.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a refusal to speak when expected

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • his silence about my contribution was surprising

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: silence

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: uncommunicativeness

3

noun

Meaning 3

the condition of being unable or unwilling to speak

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • her muteness was a consequence of her deafness

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mutism

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: condition, status

Narrower terms: deaf-mutism, deaf-muteness

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English mute Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English muteness From mute + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: немата́ (njematá) — characteristic of being mute
  • Bulgarian: немота́ (nemotá) — characteristic of being mute
  • Catalan: mudesa — characteristic of being mute
  • Czech: němota — characteristic of being mute
  • Esperanto: muteco — characteristic of being mute
  • French: mutité — characteristic of being mute
  • French: mutisme — characteristic of being mute
  • French: aphonie — characteristic of being mute
  • German: Stummheit — characteristic of being mute
  • Irish: bailbhe — characteristic of being mute
  • Irish: balbhántaíocht — characteristic of being mute
  • Macedonian: немост (nemost) — characteristic of being mute
  • Middle English: dombenesse — characteristic of being mute
  • Old English: dumbnes — characteristic of being mute
  • Polish: niemota — characteristic of being mute
  • Portuguese: mudez — characteristic of being mute
  • Romanian: muțenie — characteristic of being mute
  • Russian: немота́ (nemotá) — characteristic of being mute
  • Serbo-Croatian: немост — characteristic of being mute
  • Serbo-Croatian: nemost — characteristic of being mute
  • Slovak: nemota — characteristic of being mute
  • Spanish: mudez — characteristic of being mute
  • Spanish: mutismo — characteristic of being mute
  • Tamil: ஊமை (ūmai) — characteristic of being mute
  • Ukrainian: німота́ (nimotá) — characteristic of being mute