taciturn

English

WOTD - 12 November 2007    

Etymology

From French taciturne or Latin taciturnus, from tacitus (“secret, tacit”).

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈtæsɪtɜːn/
• (US) IPA: /ˈtæsɪtɝn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

taciturn (comparative more taciturn, superlative most taciturn)

1. Silent; temperamentally untalkative; disinclined to speak.

   The two sisters could hardly have been more different, one so boisterous and expressive, the other so taciturn and calm.

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 18:

     We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to posterity with all the eclat of a proverb.

Synonyms

• (silent): reticent, untalkative
• See also Wikisaurus:taciturn

Antonyms

• (silent): garrulous, loquacious

Derived terms

• taciturnity
• taciturnly

Related terms

• tacit
• tacitly
• tacitness

Translations

untalkative, silent

Catalan: taciturn (ca) Czech: mlčenlivý (cs) Dutch: zwijgzaam (nl) Esperanto: silentema (eo) French: taciturne (fr) Greek: ολιγόλογος (el) (oligólogos) m.,λακωνικός (el) (lakonikós) m.,λιγομίλητος (el) (ligomílitos) m.

Hungarian: hallgatag (hu) Italian: taciturno (it) Japanese: 無口 (ja) (むくち, mukuchi), 寡黙 (ja) (かもく, kamoku) Macedonian: ќутлив (mk) (ḱútliv) m., молчелив (mk) (mólčeliv) m. Russian: молчаливый (ru), неразговорчивый (ru) Spanish: taciturno (es) Swedish: fåordig (sv), tystlåten (sv)

Anagrams

• tinctura, urticant

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Catalan

Adjective

taciturn m. (feminine taciturna, masculine plural taciturns, feminine plural taciturnes)

1. taciturn