One syllable: Mute.
myoot
/mjut/
Mute is pronounced myoot (/mjut/). It has one syllable (Mute), with the stress on "Mute". Mute (adj.) describes something rendered silent or incapable of producing sound, or a person unable to speak, often by choice or circumstance. It also characterizes a lack of flavor or emphasis in performance. In usage, it conveys intentional quietness or reduced vocal activity, as in “a mute button” or “a mute audience.” The term implies complete or partial silence or deprivation of sound.
adjectiveMute (adj.) describes something rendered silent or incapable of producing sound, or a person unable to speak, often by choice or circumstance. It also characterizes a lack of flavor or emphasis in performance. In usage, it conveys intentional quietness or reduced vocal activity, as in “a mute button” or “a mute audience.” The term implies complete or partial silence or deprivation of sound.
"The remote’s mute button silenced the TV at the press of a key."
"After the debate, he spoke in a hushed, almost mute tone."
"The crowd was mute with anticipation as the singer took the stage."
Mute is pronounced with a single syllable: /mjuːt/ in US/UK/AU. Start with the /m/ lip closure, glide into a /j/ sound, forming /mju/ like 'mew' blended into 't' /t/. The tongue spreads for the /uː/ vowel, lips rounded, then a crisp /t/ at the end. The primary stress is on the only syllable. For audio reference, listen to standard pronunciation in dictionaries or Pronounce resource pages.
Common errors: (1) treating /j/ as a separate consonant cluster, misplacing the tongue and producing /mjuːt/ as two sounds rather than a smooth glide; (2) pronouncing /uː/ too short or as /u/ or /ʊ/, leading to a lax sound; (3) inserting a vowel between /m/ and /t/, e.g., /mjuːæt/. Correction: keep /m/ and /juː/ as a cohesive /mjuː/ glide, maintain the long /uː/ quality without breaking into a short vowel, and release the /t/ promptly with a clean alveolar stop.
In US/UK/AU, /mjuːt/ remains similar, but rhotic retraction slightly affects vowel color: US speakers may have a more centralized /uː/ and a tighter /t/ release; UK and AU often preserve a marginally darker /uː/ with less schwa coloring in rapid speech. AU may have a slightly broader mouth opening for /uː/. All maintain /m/ + /j/ glide + /t/, with primary stress on the syllable and no melisma.
The challenge lies in the /juː/ glide—the combination of a consonant /j/ with a long high back vowel /uː/ creates a rapid, smooth transition that can blur without practice. Some speakers under-proscribe the /j/ leading to /muːt/ or overemphasize it into /mjuː/ heavy. The final /t/ must be crisp to avoid an epenthetic vowel; keep the tongue high for /uː/ and avoid moving the jaw too much. IPA-focused practice helps anchor the sequence.
Unique aspect: the word is a rare example where the vowel is a long tense /uː/ reduced to a glide /ju/ immediately after the nasal /m/. The /j/ acts as a semi-consonant transitioning into /uː/, a feature common in English spellings resolving to a single phoneme cluster /mjuːt/. Awareness of the /j/ as a separate yet integrated element helps prevent vowel mislength.
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- US: /mjuːt/ with a slightly rounded /uː/ and quick /j/; keep non-rhoticity in mind when saying surrounding words, but mute itself remains non-rhotic with a clear /t/. - UK: /mjuːt/ tends to have a bit more precise mouth shaping, possibly a slightly longer /uː/ and crisp /t/, rhotic variation minimal. - AU: /mjuːt/ similar to UK, but you may notice more relaxed jaw posture; emphasize the glide and keep vowel quality steady across connected speech.
Mute derives from Old French mute, from Latin mutus meaning ‘silent, mute,’ from mutus “silent, shut up,” related to the verb mutere ‘to hush, keep quiet.’ The genesis lies in Latin mutus, then Old French mute, entering English in the medieval period to describe lack of voice or sound. Originally, mute referred to a person unable to speak, often in a medical or magical context, or to a device that prevents sound (as an instrument). By the 17th–18th centuries, it broadened to common descriptors of silence in daily life and in theaters, where mute slates or players signaled non-speaking roles. The noun usage as a device (mute button, mute on a keyboard) solidified in the 20th century with the rise of electronics and media control. Across centuries, the semantic field shifted from an intrinsic state of silence to an externally imposed or situational hush, while preserving the core sense of sound suppression.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Mute" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Mute"
-oot sounds
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