From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmutemute1 /mjuːt/ adjective 1 TALK TO SB# written someone who is mute does not speak, or refuses to speak SYN silent Billy continued to stand there, mute and defiant.2 old-fashionedMI someone who is mute is unable to speak —mutely adverb
Examples from the Corpus
mute• I must scream, I have to, yet I too am mute.• I thought it prudent at this point to remain mute.• They stood their ground, mute and attentive, though they came no nearer.• Jean-Claude returned from Paris mute and exhausted, as if under a spell.• The trial brings out many spectators to see Hetty standing mute and expressionless.• A stroke left her mute and unable to use her legs.• The sky has evolved into a mute deep blue, huge and high.• a mute "e"• Claudia raised the bottle of shampoo in mute enquiry.• The kid stared at me in a state of mute fear.• His mouth opened in mute protest at this perversion of the proper order of affairs.mutemute2 verb [transitive] 1 CQUIET formal to make the sound of something quieter, or make it disappear completely Excess noise can be reduced by muting alarms and telephones.2 APMto make a musical instrument sound softer3 formal to reduce the level of criticism, protest, discussion etc that is happening The incident so shocked all the students that it muted further protest.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
mute• All the resolution needed for maximum impact, I thought, was to have its sharp working-class rhetoric muted.• However, such public condemnation and the associated moral outrage can, on occasions, be strangely muted.• Reno muted criticism by taking responsibility for the decision, as well as hanging tough during congressional hearings in 1995.• So is the hum and whine, despite being muted further by extra sound-proofing.• The men's footfalls were muted - jungle boots on concrete.• As for immigration, Texans are curiously muted on the subject.• I muted the TV sound to avoid the inane commentary.• To prove their patriotism, Catholics muted whatever differences they perceived between the teachings of Church and the practices of State.mutemute3 noun [countable] 1 APMa small piece of metal, rubber etc that you place over or into a musical instrument to make it sound softer2 MI old-fashionedSAY# someone who cannot speak → deaf muteExamples from the Corpus
mute• In the loud, unending human chorus of the Bowery, who besides a mute could have gained that title for himself?• Hollywood will always need a good mute.• Trumpet players in dance bands possess many different sorts of mutes with a corresponding number of resultant timbres.• Southgate and Mandeville, their two mutes behind them, travelled at the head of the procession, whispering to each other.Origin mute1 (1300-1400) French muet, from Latin mutus 