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Glite Dictionary
🐱 A quiet cat sound 🤫 A weak complaint
silent miaow

silent miaow

8.7
A very quiet sound a cat makes by opening its mouth with almost no sound
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : maullido silencioso
  • She watched her cat give a silent miaow, opening its mouth but making almost no sound.

Examples

  • Sometimes, older cats communicate with a silent miaow instead of a loud meow.

  • I heard a silent miaow from the corner of the room.

  • The kitten greeted me with a gentle silent miaow when I entered the room.

  • Did you notice that silent miaow when the cat was hungry?

  • The kitten greeted me with a gentle silent miaow when I entered the room.

  • She watched her cat give a silent miaow, opening its mouth but making almost no sound.

  • Sometimes, older cats communicate with a silent miaow instead of a loud meow.

Synonyms

meow
vssilent miaow
48 1.0

A short sound that a cat makes

is specifically a very soft barely audible form of that sound
mew
vssilent miaow
3 6.7

A soft high sound that a kitten makes

is quieter still and often almost silent despite mouth movement
miaow
vssilent miaow
  • UK
1 8.7

A short high sound that a cat makes

is a much softer barely audible version of the conventional cry
mewing
vssilent miaow
1 1.0

A short high sound made by a cat or young bird

is softer and usually nearly inaudible rather than sharp
miaul
vssilent miaow
9.9

A high, often soft sound that a cat makes to get attention

is set apart by extreme softness with almost no audible noise

How Loud

yowl
3 7.2
to meow
8 1.0
mew
3 6.7
silent miaow
  • UK
8.7

Surface Forms

silent miaow singular
silent miaows plural

Morphology

silent + miaow

The phrase directly combines 'silent' (quiet) with 'miaow' (a cat's plaintive sound), so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer a barely audible, plaintive cry — i.e. a weak plea or complaint. Because this involves a metaphorical mapping from an animal sound to a human complaint rather than a purely literal composition, the relation is partially predictable but not fully literal.

Etymology

Silent miaow comes from the picture of a cat opening its mouth but making almost no sound; the word miaow names the cat sound and silent shows it is barely heard. So it means 'a very soft or barely audible sound made by a cat'.