Meanings
- not comparableLacking a voice, without vocal sound.
How people, with any pretence to decency or cleanliness, can, for a day, sit voiceless and patient and see these brutes destroy and befilth everything, public and private, is difficult to believe.
1890, Albert Kimsey Owen, Integral Co-operation at Work ... - Page 1051 more example
A voiceless song in an ageless light / Sings at the coming dawn / Birds in flight are calling there / Where the heart moves the stones / It's there that my heart is calling / All for the love of you.
1994, Loreena McKennitt, The Mystic's DreamSynonyms: inaudible, silent, unvoiced · Antonyms: audible, vocal, voiced
- figurativelynot comparableWithout a vote; having no input into a decision.
I've come to see she is a voiceless person in her world, and so I try to remember to stop and give her my full-faced attention when I see her.
2011, Jan Johnson, Living a Purpose-Full Life1 more example
I feel like hip-hop / Used to be a voice for the voiceless, you know? / And now it's become, at least in the mainstream, a symbol of / misogyny, gay panic, fiscal irresponsibility, you know? / So I figure / if you can't beat 'em / join 'em
2010, Bo Burnham, “Oh Bo”, in Words Words Words
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveLacking a voice, without vocal sound.
adjectiveSpoken without vibration of the vocal cords; unvoiced, surd, breathed. Examples: [t], [s], [f], [m̥], [u̥].
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivedeprived of the rights of citizenship especially the right to vote
adjectiveuttered without voice
adjectivebeing without sound through injury or illness and thus incapable of all but whispered speech
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*wekʷ-
- Proto-Indo-European*wṓkʷs
- Proto-Italic*wōks
- Latinvōcem
- Anglo-Normanvoiz
- Middle Englishvoys
- Englishvoice
- Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*lewHs-
- Proto-Germanic*leusaną
- Proto-Germanic*lausaz
- Englishvoiceless
Translations
Ancient Greek ἄφωνος
- ἄφωνος (áphōnos)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
Arabic مَهْمُوس
- مَهْمُوس (mahmūs)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Bengali অঘোষ
- অঘোষ (oghōś)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Bulgarian беззвучен, безгласен
- беззвучен (bezzvučen)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- безгласен (bezglasen)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- беззву́чен (bezzvúčen)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Chinese Mandarin 無聲 /无声, 清
- 無聲 /无声 (wúshēng)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
- 清 (qīng)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Czech neznělý
- neznělýphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Danish ustemt
- ustemtphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Dutch stemloos
- stemloosphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Esperanto senvoĉa
- senvoĉalacking a voice, without vocal sound
Estonian helitu
- helituphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Finnish mykkä, äänetön
- mykkälacking a voice, without vocal sound
- äänetönlacking a voice, without vocal sound
- soinnitonphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
French aphone, sourd
- aphonelacking a voice, without vocal sound
- sourdphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
German tonlos, stimmlos
- tonloslacking a voice, without vocal sound
- stimmlosphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Greek άηχος
- άηχος (áichos)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Hindi अघोष
- अघोष (aghoṣ)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Hungarian hangtalan, néma
- hangtalanlacking a voice, without vocal sound
- némalacking a voice, without vocal sound
- zöngétlenphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Icelandic raddlaus, óraddaður
- raddlauslacking a voice, without vocal sound
- óraddaðurphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Irish neamhghlórach
- neamhghlórachphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Italian sordo
- sordophonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Japanese 無言の, 暗黙の
- 無言の (mugon no)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- 暗黙の (anmoku no)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- 無声 (musei)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
- 清 (sei)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Korean 무성
- 무성 (museong)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Lithuanian bebalsis
- bebalsislacking a voice, without vocal sound
Norwegian Bokmål ustemt
- ustemtphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Polish niemy, bezgłośny
- niemylacking a voice, without vocal sound
- bezgłośnylacking a voice, without vocal sound
- bezdźwięcznylacking a voice, without vocal sound
- bezdźwięcznyphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Portuguese mudo, surdo
- mudolacking a voice, without vocal sound
- surdophonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Romanian mut, fără voce
- mutlacking a voice, without vocal sound
- fără vocelacking a voice, without vocal sound
- surdphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Russian безголо́сый, безгла́сный
- безголо́сый (bezgolósyj)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- безгла́сный (bezglásnyj)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- немо́й (nemój)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- беззву́чный (bezzvúčnyj)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- глухо́й (gluxój)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Scottish Gaelic neo-ghuthach
- neo-ghuthachphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Spanish mudo, sordo
- mudolacking a voice, without vocal sound
- sordophonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Swedish tonlös, tonlös
- tonlöslacking a voice, without vocal sound
- tonlösphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Turkish sessiz
- sessizphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Ukrainian безголо́сний, беззву́чний
- безголо́сний (bezholósnyj)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- беззву́чний (bezzvúčnyj)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- безголо́сий (bezholósyj)lacking a voice, without vocal sound
- глухи́й (hluxýj)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
- безголо́сний (bezholósnyj)phonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Vietnamese vô thanh
- vô thanhphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Welsh di-lais
- di-laisphonetics, of a consonant: spoken without vibration of the vocal cords
Cite this entry
voiceless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voiceless
“voiceless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voiceless. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “voiceless,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/voiceless.
Source: voiceless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.