Definition of "mute" []

• Refraining from producing speech or vocal sound. (adjective)
• Often Offensive Unable to speak. (adjective)
• Unable to vocalize, as certain animals. (adjective)
• Expressed without speech; unspoken: a mute appeal. (adjective)
• Law Refusing to plead when under arraignment. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Her eyes clung to him, her expression mute in its appeal."
• "On account of the great progress made, especially during the last century, in the education of deaf-mutes, by which a large percentage are taught to speak, the term mute is also omitted when speaking of matters pertaining to that class formerly designated as"
• ""It is what we call a mute 'e'; but it exercises a modifying influence on the preceding vowel.""