American Heritage Dictionary Entry: quiet HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com qui·et (kwīĭt) Share: Tweet adj. qui·et·er, qui·et·est 1. Making or characterized by little or no noise: a quiet library; a quiet street; a quiet, well tuned engine. 2. a. Free of turmoil and agitation; calm: a quiet lake; a quiet place in the country. b. Providing or allowing relaxation; restful; soothing: a quiet afternoon nap; a quiet tune on the flute. 3. Not showy or bright; subdued: a room decorated in quiet colors. 4. Restrained, as in style; understated: a quiet strength; a quiet life. 5. Out of public scrutiny; known or discussed by few: wanted to keep the incident quiet until after the election. n. The quality or condition of being quiet: "A menacing quiet fills the empty streets" (Time). v. qui·et·ed, qui·et·ing, qui·ets v.tr. 1. To cause to become quiet: The teacher quieted the students. 2. To make (a title) secure by freeing from uncertainties or adverse claims as to the ownership. v.intr. To become quiet: The child wouldn't quiet down for me. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere, to rest; see kweiə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] quiet·ly adv. quiet·ness n. Synonyms: quiet, silent, still1, noiseless, soundless These adjectives mean marked by or making no sound, noise, or movement. Quiet suggests the absence of bustle, tumult, or agitation: "life being very short, and the quiet hours of it few" (John Ruskin). Silent can suggest a profound hush: "I like the silent church before the service begins" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Still implies lack of motion or disturbance and often connotes rest or tranquility: "But after tempest ... / There came a day as still as heaven" (Tennyson). Noiseless and soundless imply the absence of disturbing sound: "th' inaudible and noiseless foot of time" (Shakespeare). "the soundless footsteps on the grass" (John Galsworthy). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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