taciturn en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈtæsɪtɜːn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- (US) audio
- /ˈtæs.ɪˌtɝn/ (US)
Etymology
Back-formation from taciturnity, from Middle English taciturnite, from Latin taciturnitās; or alternatively from French taciturne, likely reinforced by Latin taciturnus, from tacitus (“secret, tacit”).
Meanings
-
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.
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.
1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 18:We spent a lot of time up on the staging of the great furnaces, trying to pick up the tricks of the trade from the taciturn furnacemen who sat around placidly smoking, or chewing twist, and occasionally throwing in more pig iron to the molten white-hot metal.
1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, page 14:To say that Cavendish’s distaste for hype and self-promotion extended to his personal life would be an understatement. The statesman Lord Henry Brougham observed in 1845 that his taciturn colleague “uttered fewer words in the course of his life than any man who lived to fourscore years, not at all excepting the monks of La Trappe.”
2015, Steve Silberman, chapter 1, in Megan Newman, editor, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, New York: Avery, →ISBN, page 24:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more taciturn | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most taciturn | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
garrulous · prolix · talkative · verbose · talkative · loquacious
Deriveds
taciturnly · untaciturn · taciturnist · taciturnity
Relateds
concise · tacitness · secretive · tight-lipped · tacitly · tacet · stern · tacit · tacenda · incommunicado · discreet
Synonyms
reserved · silentious · taciturn · silent · quiet · unloquacious · reticent · untalkative · untalkative · reticent
Translations (79)
sh шу̀тљив (untalkative, silent) · pl małomówny (untalkative, silent) · nl zwijgzaam (untalkative, silent) · de wortkarg (untalkative, silent) · it taciturno (untalkative, silent) · mi hauwarea (untalkative, silent) · ro taciturn (untalkative, silent) · grc σιωπητικός (untalkative, silent) · de verschwiegen (untalkative, silent) · bg мълчали́в (untalkative, silent) · de sprechfaul (untalkative, silent) · ka სიტყვაძვირი (untalkative, silent) · mk молчалив (untalkative, silent) · ca taciturn (untalkative, silent) · de einsilbig (untalkative, silent) · ja 寡黙な (untalkative, silent) · grc ἐχέμυθος (untalkative, silent) · eo silentema (untalkative, silent) · mk ќутлив (untalkative, silent) · ka ენაუთქმელი (untalkative, silent) · de schweigsam (untalkative, silent) · io tacera (untalkative, silent) · hu hallgatag (untalkative, silent) · ka სიტყვაძუნწი (untalkative, silent) · sk mlčanlivý (untalkative, silent) · bg необщи́телен (untalkative, silent) · ru молчали́вый (untalkative, silent) · sh муча̀љив (untalkative, silent) · gl taciturno (untalkative, silent) · sl molčeč (untalkative, silent) · el λακωνικός (untalkative, silent) · cmn 沉默寡言 (untalkative, silent) · mi whakarikiriki (untalkative, silent) · fa کم حرف (untalkative, silent) · ka სულგანაბული (untalkative, silent) · fi hiljainen (untalkative, silent) · ru необщи́тельный (untalkative, silent) · es taciturno (untalkative, silent) · da fåmælt (untalkative, silent) · pl milczący (untalkative, silent) · da ordknap (untalkative, silent) · pt taciturno (untalkative, silent) · sv ordknapp (untalkative, silent) · ru неразгово́рчивый (untalkative, silent) · uk мовчазни́й (untalkative, silent) · sh неразговорљив (untalkative, silent) · cs mlčenlivý (untalkative, silent) · la taciturnus (untalkative, silent) · sh mučàljiv (untalkative, silent) · fr taciturne (untalkative, silent) · sv ordkarg (untalkative, silent) · be нетавары́скі (untalkative, silent) · sh šùtljiv (untalkative, silent) · sv fåordig (untalkative, silent) · cmn 沉默 (untalkative, silent) · de mundfaul (untalkative, silent) · ka უსიტყვო (untalkative, silent) · ka სიტყვაუთქმელი (untalkative, silent) · de kurzsilbig (untalkative, silent) · is þögull (untalkative, silent) · el σιωπηλός (untalkative, silent) · fi jörö (untalkative, silent) · be негаманлі́вы (untalkative, silent) · cs nemluvný (untalkative, silent) · sv tystlåten (untalkative, silent) · no tagal (untalkative, silent) · el ολιγόλογος (untalkative, silent) · ka სულგაკმენდილი (untalkative, silent) · mi hauarea (untalkative, silent) · uk нетовари́ський (untalkative, silent) · fa کم گوی (untalkative, silent) · io tacema (untalkative, silent) · be маўклі́вы (untalkative, silent) · ga tostach (untalkative, silent) · sh nerazgovorljiv (untalkative, silent) · pl milkliwy (untalkative, silent) · de maulfaul (untalkative, silent) · uk мовчазли́вий (untalkative, silent) · ja 無口な (untalkative, silent)