voiceless

adjective

voice·​less ˈvȯis-ləs How to pronounce voiceless (audio)
1
: having no voice : mute
2
: not voiced : surd
a voiceless consonant
voicelessly adverb
voicelessness noun

Examples of voiceless in a Sentence

“S” is a voiceless consonant. believes that animals deserve basic rights even though they are voiceless
Recent Examples on the Web Imposing duties drives up the cost of business for so many of these effectively voiceless U.S. companies, the financial impact on whom must not be taken into consideration by the U.S. International Trade Commission – the agency rendering the injury determination. Dan Ikenson, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Last year, neuroscientists at the University of California, San Francisco published a high-profile paper in The New England Journal of Medicine detailing how artificial neural networks coupled with a brain implant helped a paralyzed and voiceless man regain the ability to talk via a computer. Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2022 Like any cultural expression that looks at society’s most vulnerable and voiceless, the art of incarceration is often defined from the outside in. Adam Bradley, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2022 That would have been unheard-of under Carlisle, whose assistants through the years largely remained voiceless, at least publicly. Dallas News, 13 Apr. 2022 But unlike Siri, the virtual driver in this study remained voiceless. Jeremy Hsu, Discover Magazine, 27 Aug. 2015 And Just Like That … as a ghost in the machine: a faceless, voiceless apparition seen only in texts to Carrie Bradshaw’s phone. Kim Cattrall, Vulture, 4 May 2022 Helping voiceless patients speak their minds is already a laudable goal, but this device could do more. Gordy Slack, Discover Magazine, 17 Mar. 2014 The monkey, however, remained voiceless throughout the first two seasons as a reflection of Coulter stifling her own voice. Nick Romano, EW.com, 5 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'voiceless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of voiceless was in 1535

Dictionary Entries Near voiceless

Cite this Entry

“Voiceless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/voiceless. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

voiceless

adjective
voice·​less ˈvȯi-sləs How to pronounce voiceless (audio)
1
: having no voice
2
: not voiced
a voiceless consonant like \f\
voicelessness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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