quiet
1qui·et
noun \ˈkwī-ət\Definition of QUIET
: the quality or state of being quiet (see 2quiet): tranquillity
— on the quiet
: in a secretive manner : in secret
See Examples of QUIET
- the quiet of a wooded trail
- Can I have some quiet here? I'm trying to study.
- I need a little peace and quiet.
- Breakfast at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, a members-only institution founded in the city now called Mumbai in 1846 by British colonial officers, is a meal of quiet elegance. The second-story veranda looks out over a small garden and, beyond that, the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel. Outside is the tumult of horse-drawn carriages, touts, and taxis. Inside is peaceful stillness, broken only by the sounds of crunched-on toast and rustling newspapers. —Lyla Bavadam, Saveur, October 2008
- One change I notice is that I get sleepy earlier than I used to, sometimes by 8:30 or 9 if I am having a quiet evening at home. —Andrew Weil, Time, 17 Oct. 2005
- I interviewed Virginia, who is totally blind, in a small local library. Walking with her guide dog, this young-looking woman arrived soon after I came in. We found a quiet corner to sit and talk while her dog settled beside her chair. At forty-three, Virginia was used to telling her story and found time for our interview in her busy travel schedule. She had just returned from San Francisco where she had spoken at the California Academy of Sciences and was about to leave for Montreal, Canada, to conduct workshops in diversity awareness. —Mary Grimley Mason, Working Against Odds, 2004
- Attributing their behaviors to their personal dispositions, we decide Julie is shy and Jack is outgoing. Because people do have enduring personality traits, such attributions are sometimes valid. However, we often overestimate the influence of personality and underestimate the influence of situations. In class, Jack may be as quiet as Julie. Catch Julie at a party and you may hardly recognize your quiet classmate. —David G. Myers, Psychology, 2001
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Origin of QUIET
Middle English, from Anglo-French quiete, Latin quiet-, quies rest, quiet — more at while
First Known Use: 14th century
Related to QUIET
Synonyms: calmness, hush, peace, peacefulness, placidity, calm, quietness, quietude, repose, restfulness, sereneness, serenity, still, stillness, tranquillity (or tranquility)
Antonyms: bustle, commotion, hubbub, hurly-burly, pandemonium, tumult, turmoil, unquietness, unrest, uproar
Related Words: lull, pause, respite; silence; mildness, soothingness; comity, concord, harmony; casualness, easygoingness, informality, laid-backness, relaxedness
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