Law. (of a person who has been arraigned) making no plea or giving an irrelevant response when arraigned, or refusing to stand trial (used chiefly in the phrase to stand mute).
Fox Hunting. (of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.
noun
Offensive. a person incapable of speech.
an actor whose part is confined to dumb show.
Law. a person who stands mute when arraigned.
Also called sordino. a mechanical device of various shapes and materials for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.
Phonetics. a stop.
BritishObsolete. a hired mourner at a funeral; a professional mourner.
verb (used with object),mut·ed,mut·ing.
to deaden or muffle the sound of.
to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color.
Origin of mute
1325–75; <Latin mūtus dumb; replacing Middle English muet<Middle French, equivalent to Old French mu (<Latin mūtus) + unexplained suffix -et;cf. -et
Face-swapped onto an actor, it muted the actor’s expressions.
Inside the strange new world of being a deepfake actor|Karen Hao|October 9, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The limits of a mute buttonTrump has made unpredictability part of his political brand, which Schroeder pegged as the source for many of the current debate challenges.
The first presidential debate was chaotic. Here’s why improving the next one will be tough.|Kim Bellware|October 1, 2020|Washington Post
The feature, which has been in development over the past year, is meant to not only make it easier to find rights-cleared music, but also to address the ongoing issues creators face with having their archives muted.
Twitch launches a rights-cleared music catalog for streamers, Soundtrack by Twitch|Sarah Perez|September 30, 2020|TechCrunch
With the launch of Soundtrack by Twitch, music will be separated into its own audio channel so creators can play the tracks without being worried about muting or receiving strikes against their channel.
Twitch launches a rights-cleared music catalog for streamers, Soundtrack by Twitch|Sarah Perez|September 30, 2020|TechCrunch
Overall, consumer spending will be muted this holiday season compared with last year, making it paramount for brick-and-mortar retailers to be at the top of their e-commerce game.
Holiday season hiring at Target, Walmart shows shifting focus to e-commerce|Phil Wahba|September 24, 2020|Fortune
Should Courage give up her war profiteering and settle down to run an honest pub—even if it means abandoning her mute girl?
I presume most Republicans will be clever enough to mute impeachment talk before November.
The GOP’s Audacious Impeachment Spin Job|Michael Tomasky|July 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Kennedy proceeded on, having rendered Douglas mute as a result not of his position, but of his person.
Michael Daly: My Last Day With JFK|Michael Daly|November 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The deaths of Lewis and Huxley were mute, private events, only reported in The Times three days later.
Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley|John Garth|November 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For a moment the spectators of this awful disaster stood still in mute astonishment.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence|Eugne Sue
Janet Carey, standing in mute wonder like the rest of us, testified to this.
Johnny Ludlow, Third Series|Mrs. Henry Wood
These made their subjunctive in am, a termination which properly becomes the mute e of French.
Avril|H. Belloc
Its very legend proved that it had always been the mute accomplice, the incorruptible custodian of the mysteries it had surprised.
Tales Of Men And Ghosts|Edith Wharton
Carley not only was mute; she felt rise and burn in her a singular shame and surprise.
The Call of the Canyon|Zane Grey
British Dictionary definitions for mute (1 of 2)
mute1
/ (mjuːt) /
adjective
not giving out sound or speech; silent
unable to speak; dumb
unspoken or unexpressedmute dislike
law(of a person arraigned on indictment) refusing to answer a charge
phonetics another word for plosive
(of a letter in a word) silent
noun
a person who is unable to speak
lawa person who refuses to plead when arraigned on indictment for an offence
any of various devices used to soften the tone of stringed or brass instruments
phoneticsa plosive consonant; stop
a silent letter
an actor in a dumb show
a hired mourner at a funeral
verb(tr)
to reduce the volume of (a musical instrument) by means of a mute, soft pedal, etc
to subdue the strength of (a colour, tone, lighting, etc)
Derived forms of mute
mutely, adverbmuteness, noun
Word Origin for mute
C14: muwet from Old French mu, from Latin mūtus silent
usage for mute
Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive and should be avoided. The phrase profoundly deaf is a suitable alternative in many contexts
British Dictionary definitions for mute (2 of 2)
mute2
/ (mjuːt) archaic /
verb
(of birds) to discharge (faeces)
noun
birds' faeces
Word Origin for mute
C15: from Old French meutir, variant of esmeltir, of Germanic origin; probably related to smelt1 and melt