Skip to main content
PlainSpell

quiet

qui·et/ˈkwaɪ̯.ət/adjective, verb, noun, interjection

quiet is spelled Q-U-I-E-T: 5 letters and 2 syllables (qui·et). It appears 45 times per million words in written English, the 2,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “quiet vs quite” about 5,400 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, quiet means “With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in quiet?

Letters5: Q-U-I-E-T
Syllables2: qui·et
In writing45 times per million words; the 2,253rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is quiet?

Quiet appears 45 times per million words in written English, the 2,253rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce quiet?

  • /ˈkwaɪ̯.ət/
  • [ˈkʰw̥aɪ̯.ət]

Quiet has 2 syllables, split qui·et in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-quiet.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with quiet

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

quiet vs quite5,400 G

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with quiet?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as quiet.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: quite.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of quiet

  • quieter comparative
  • more quiet comparative
  • quietest superlative
  • most quiet superlative
  • quiets present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • quieting participle, present
  • quieted participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does quiet mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    With little or no sound; free of disturbing noise.

    I can't hear the music; it is too quiet.

  2. 2

    Having little motion or activity; calm.

    the sea was quiet

  3. 3

    Not busy, of low quantity.

    The traffic was quiet for a Monday morning.

  4. 4

    Not talking much or not talking loudly; reserved.

    He's a very quiet man usually, but is very chatty after a few beers.

  5. 5

    Not showy; undemonstrative.

    a quiet dress

  6. 6

    Requiring little or no interaction.

    a quiet install

verb

  1. 1

    To cause (someone or something) to become quiet.

    Can you quiet your child? He’s making lots of noise.

  2. 2

    To become quiet or calm.

    When you quiet, we can start talking.

noun

  1. 1

    The absence of sound; quietness.

    There was a strange quiet in the normally very lively plaza.

  2. 2

    The absence of movement; stillness, tranquility.

  3. 3

    The absence of disturbance or trouble; peace, security.

interjection

  1. 1

    Be quiet.

    Quiet! The children are sleeping.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate quiet?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of quiet: qt.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Quiet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcalme, silencieux (with little sound), tranquille, paisible (having little motion), apaiser, calmer (to cause (someone or something) to become quiet)
Germanstill, ruhig, leise (with little sound), ruhen (to cause (someone or something) to become quiet)
Portuguesequieto, silencioso (with little sound), silenciar (to cause (someone or something) to become quiet), calmo, tranqüilo (not busy), calado (not talking)
Spanishquieto, silencioso, tranquilo, calmo, pacífico, silente (with little sound)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does quiet come from?

From Middle English quiete, from Old French quiet (adjective) and quiete (noun), from Latin quiētus, past participle of quiēscere (“to keep quiet, rest”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷyeh₁- (“rest”). Doublet of coy, quit, quite, and quietus. Largely displaced native English still in the sense of "with little or no sound".

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after quiet