quieten

quieten
quiet, quieten
As a verb, quiet has been used transitively (with an object) since the 16c in the meaning ‘to make (someone or something) quiet’, and is still in use in this sense:

• The unexpectedness of this departure from the routine at first disquieted but then quieted us all —M. Lindvall, 1991.

Since the 18c, and especially in North America, it has also been used intransitively (often in extended meanings to do more with disposition and temperament than actual sound):

• When I switched to opiates at least I quieted down —New Yorker, 1992.

The alternative verb quieten appeared (often with down) in the 19c in both transitive and intransitive uses; because quiet was available, it was regarded by Fowler (1926) as a ‘superfluous word’, but in more recent usage the stigma has mostly disappeared, leaving quieten now the more common choice than quiet:

• The youth…revved the engine, then quietened it down to the soft ticking-over —J. Wainwright, 1973

• Arnica also helps to calm and quieten the upset child —Health Shopper, 1990

• It's not so much that I've quietened down, as that I've channelled my energies into things that are more productive than out-and-out hedonism —Female First Online, BrE 2005 [OEC].


Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • quieten — index lull Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • quieten — ► VERB chiefly Brit. ▪ make or become quiet and calm …   English terms dictionary

  • quieten — [kwī′ət n] vt., vi. [ QUIET + EN] Brit. to make or become quiet …   English World dictionary

  • quieten — [[t]kwa͟ɪ͟ət(ə)n[/t]] quietens, quietening, quietened 1) V ERG If you quieten someone or something, or if they quieten, you make them become less noisy, less active, or silent. [mainly BRIT] [V n] She tried to quieten her breathing... A man… …   English dictionary

  • quieten — UK [ˈkwaɪət(ə)n] / US verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms quieten : present tense I/you/we/they quieten he/she/it quietens present participle quietening past tense quietened past participle quietened 1) quieten or quieten down to become… …   English dictionary

  • quieten — qui|et|en [ˈkwaıətn] v BrE quiet AmE 1.) [I and T] also quieten down BrE to become calmer and less noisy or active, or to make someone or something do this ▪ Javed Miandad appealed for calm, but he failed to quieten the protesters. ▪ Quiet down… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • quieten — also quiet AmE verb 1 also quieten down (I, T) to become less noisy or less active, or to make someone or something do this: The chatter quietened briefly when she came into the room. | Things tend to quieten down after the Christmas rush. 2 (T)… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • quieten — quiet, quieten vb *calm, compose, still, lull, soothe, settle, tranquil ize Analogous words: allay, alleviate, assuage, *relieve: abate, lessen, *decrease Antonyms: disquiet: arouse, rouse Contrasted words: *stir, awaken, rally: excite, stimulate …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • quieten — [ˈkwaɪət(ə)n] verb [I/T] British to become calmer or less noisy, or to make someone do this • quieten (sb/sth) down …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • quieten down — [phrasal verb] Brit : to become quiet or quieter The children quietened down after dinner. • • • Main Entry: ↑quieten …   Useful english dictionary

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