1
general::
adj. with little or no noise; not talking VERBS be | become, fall, go, grow | lie, keep, remain, sit, stay Just sit quiet for a moment, there's a good boy. | keep sb/sth Keep that dog quiet, will you! ADV. all, extraordinarily, extremely, really, remarkably, unusually, very Suddenly the room went all quiet. | absolutely, completely, perfectly | fairly, pretty, rather | enough | blissfully | deathly, eerily The house was eerily quiet. | dangerously, ominously His voice was dangerously quiet as he asked the question. | oddly, strangely, unnaturally She went back to a strangely quiet house. | uncharacteristically PREP. about I knew I had to keep quiet about it. PHRASES nice (and) quiet I was looking forward to a nice quiet afternoon. without much activity VERBS be, look, seem | become | lie, remain, sit Lie quiet for an hour and you'll feel better. | keep sb/sth Keep the patient as quiet as possible. ADV. extremely, very | comparatively, fairly, pretty, quite, rather, reasonably, relatively | enough Things seemed quiet enough, but it was an uneasy calm., noun ADJ. comparative, relative a period of comparative quiet | sudden VERB + QUIET call for A man's voice was calling for quiet. | shatter A machine gun shattered the quiet. QUIET + VERB follow in the sudden quiet that followed the gunshot PHRASES peace and quiet I'm going home for a bit of peace and quiet! | a place/time of quiet She made sure she had times of quiet in which to write.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
a quiet sound or voice
quiet
not making a loud sound:
• I heard a quiet voice behind me. • a car with a quiet engine
low
quiet – especially because you do not want people to hear or be disturbed:
• Doug was on the phone, speaking in a low voice. • I turned the volume down low.
soft
quiet and pleasant to listen to:
• Soft music was playing in the background. • His voice was soft and gentle.
silent
not making any sound at all:
• a silent prayer • silent laughter • The machines were virtually silent.
hushed
deliberately quiet because you do not want people to hear – used about people’s voices:
• They were talking about money in hushed tones. • The doctor’s voice was hushed and urgent.
faint
quiet and difficult to hear because it comes from a long way away:
• The men went ahead and their voices got fainter and fainter. • the faint sound of bells
muffled
difficult to hear, for example because the sound comes from another room or someone’s mouth is covered by something:
• Muffled voices were coming from downstairs. • the muffled sound of someone crying
dull
[ only before noun ] a dull sound is not loud – used especially about the sound of something hitting another thing:
• He hit the ground with a dull thud.
inaudible
too quiet to hear:
• The sound is inaudible to the human ear. • Her answer came in an almost inaudible whisper.
a quiet place
quiet
without much noise:
• It’s so quiet here at night. • This is the quietest room in the house to work in.
silent
with no noise at all:
• The room fell silent (= became silent ) .
peaceful
( also tranquil especially written ) quiet in a pleasant and relaxing way:
• Life’s more peaceful in the countryside. • The hotel is set in tranquil surroundings.
sleepy
[ only before noun ] quiet – used about a town or village where there are not many people and very little happens:
• a sleepy fishing village
not saying much
quiet
not saying much:
• He’s a quiet boy who loves reading. • You’re very quiet tonight, Suzy – are you OK?
silent
not saying anything:
• Her husband was a big silent man. • Everyone was arguing but I decided to remain silent.
taciturn
formal not talking much and seeming a little unfriendly or bad-tempered:
• He found Vaughn a taciturn and rather difficult person.
reticent
unwilling to talk to other people, especially about a particular subject:
• She’s always been reticent about her early life.
a man/woman of few words
someone who does not talk much, especially because they only speak when there is something important to say:
• My father was a man of few words, but when he spoke everyone listened.
Longman-Thesaurus