quieten

quieten — verb

1. to stop making noise or causing excitement, or to make a person, animal, or situ

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to stop making noise or causing excitement, or to make a person, animal, or situation become calmer and less noisy

Example

The crowd quietened down after the speaker raised his hand.

phrasal use: 'quieten down' for groups or noise

Sari quietened the crying baby by humming a soft tune.

transitive: quieten + [distressed person/animal]

Common collocations
  • quieten down
  • quieten the crowd
  • quieten a baby
  • quieten someone's nerves
  • quieten the storm
Synonyms
  • calm

    Broader meaning — can refer to soothing emotions or reducing activity, not just noise

  • hush

    More specific — implies making silent, often used for babies or audiences; slightly informal

  • silence

    Stronger and more forceful — suggests completely stopping all sound, often by authority

Antonyms
  • stir up

    Opposite direction — to excite or agitate instead of calming

  • disturb

    To interrupt peace or quiet, the reverse of restoring calm

Grammar Patterns

quieten + noun phrase (transitive)

quieten + down (intransitive phrasal)

quieten + noun phrase + down

Usage Note

Primarily used in British English; American English prefers 'quiet' as the verb (e.g., 'The teacher quieted the class'). Often appears with 'down' as a phrasal verb: 'quieten down'.

Common Mistakes

The crowd quieted down after the speech.
The crowd quietened down after the speech.
In British English, 'quieten' is the standard verb form; 'quiet' as a verb is more common in American English.
She quietened the situation.
She quietened everyone down.
'Quieten' typically takes a concrete or animated object (a person, animal, or group), not abstract nouns like 'situation'.
Phrasal verbs

quieten down

phrasal verb

to become calmer and less active, noisy, or excited, especially after being lively or disruptive

The children finally quietened down after their parents turned off the television.

It took a few minutes for the audience to quieten down so the play could begin.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Quieten' is the standard British English verb for reducing noise or excitement, often with 'down' (quieten down). 'Calm' has a broader scope — it can refer to soothing emotions, reducing anger, or easing a tense situation, not just cutting noise. 'Hush' is softer and more informal, commonly used to quieten a baby or a small group, and often implies a gentle, shushing sound. 'Silence' is stronger and more authoritative — it suggests imposing complete quiet, often through a command or stern look ('The head teacher silenced the class'). Choose 'quieten' for everyday noise reduction in British contexts, 'calm' for emotional soothing, 'hush' for gentle quieting, and 'silence' for authoritative enforcement.

quieten ↗calm ↗hushsilence ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Formed by adding the suffix '-en' to the adjective 'quiet', a common English pattern for creating verbs that mean 'to make or become more [adjective]' (compare 'darken', 'soften', 'widen'). The word 'quiet' itself comes from Latin 'quietus', meaning 'resting, calm, peaceful', via Old French 'quiet'. The verb 'quieten' has been used in English since the 16th–17th century, though it was less common than 'quiet' as a verb until it became the preferred form in British English.