(~s, muting, ~d)
1.
Someone who is ~ is silent for a particular reason and does not speak.
He was ~, distant, and indifferent...
ADJ
•
Mute is also an adverb.
He could watch her standing ~ by the phone...
ADV: ADV after v
~ly
I crouched by him and grasped his hand, ~ly offering what comfort I could.
ADV: ADV with v
2.
Someone who is ~ is unable to speak. (OLD-FASHIONED)
Marianna, the duke’s daughter, became ~ after a shock.
ADJ
3.
If someone ~s something such as their feelings or their activities, they reduce the strength or intensity of them.
The corruption does not seem to have ~d the country’s prolonged economic boom.
VERB: V n
~d
The threat contrasted starkly with his administration’s previous ~d criticism...
ADJ
4.
If you ~ a noise or sound, you lower its volume or make it less distinct.
They begin to ~ their voices, not be as assertive...
VERB: V n
~d
‘Yes,’ he muttered, his voice so ~d I hardly heard his reply...
ADJ