- silent
- silent 1 Silent, uncommunicative, taciturn, reticent, reserved, secretive, close, close-lipped, closemouthed, tight-lipped are comparable when they mean showing restraint in speaking to or with others.Silent and uncommunicative often imply a tendency to say no more than is absolutely necessary as a matter of habit{
he had had a rather unhappy boyhood; and it made him a silent man— Conrad
}{a stern, silent man, long a widower— Cather
}{whose uncommunicative heart will scarce one precious word impart— Swift
}or an abstinence from speech on some particular occasion typically because of caution or the stress of emotion{a silent, shaky embrace, each afraid to entrust words to her trembling lips— Styron
}{she found the presidential nominee uncommunicative regarding plans to put women in high office— Current Biog.
}Taciturn implies a temperamental disinclination to speech; it usually also connotes unsociableness or the nature of one who grudgingly converses when necessary{Benson was ... a taciturn hater of woman— Meredith
}{always taciturn, he now hardly spoke at all— Cloete
}{the farmer was taciturn and drove them speechlessly to the house— Buck
}Reticent implies the disposition to keep one's own counsel or the habit or fact of withholding much that might be said, especially under particular circumstances; the term does not usually con-note silence but, rather, sparing speech or an indisposition to discuss one's private affairs{all subsequent autobiographies and confessions seem in comparison reticent, wanting in detail— L. P. Smith
}{he had been characteristically reticent regarding the details of his own financial affairs— Marquand
}{it was a matter upon which he was reticent, and with persons of his kidney a direct question is never very discreet— Maugham
}Reserved implies reticence but it also suggests formality, standoffishness, or a temperamental indisposition to the give and take of friendly conversation or familiar intercourse{a reserved and distant demeanor
}{grave, though with no formal solemnity, reserved if not exactly repressed ... she was yet a woman of unmistakable force of character— Ellis
}{habitually was reserved in speech, withholding her opinion— Sackville-West
}Secretive also implies reticence, but it adds an implication of disparagement that reticent usually lacks, for it suggests an opposition to frank or open and often connotes an attempt to hide or conceal something that might properly be told{a secretive public official is the despair of reporters
}{the rapport between this man and his parents was so intense and tacit that it seemed secretive— Cheever
}{his voice became secretive and confidential, the voice of a man divulging fabulous professional secrets— Dahl
}Close (see also CLOSE 1 & 2) comes near to reticent and secretive in its meaning but it usually denotes a disposition rather than an attitude or manner and, therefore, often suggests taciturnity{he was too close to name his circumstances to me— Dickens
}Close-lipped and close-mouthed are often used in place of close not only as more picturesque terms but also as more clearly implying a determined refusal to disclose something that another desires to know{he is always closemouthed about his plans
}{she proved a good secretary because she was close-lipped about all matters of a confidential nature
}{those few who knew actual combat destination kept close-lipped— Dodson
}{the family has been . . . extraordinarily closemouthed about even the broad outline of its commercial affairs— Freeman Lincoln
}Tight-lipped carries a stronger implication of resolute but not necessarily temperamental reticence{infinite caution, tight-lipped, unshakable patience, these must be his rule— Buchan
}Analogous words: restrained, curbed, checked, inhibited (see RESTRAIN): discreet, prudent (see under PRUDENCE)Antonyms: talkative2 *still, stilly, quiet, noiselessAnalogous words: *calm, serene, tranquil, placid, peaceful
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
