🗣️ Without vocal cords 🤫 Without speaking

voicelessly

7.1

Without speaking aloud

adverb
/ˈvɔɪsləsli/

: sin voz

He expressed his agreement voicelessly, raising his eyebrows and giving a thumbs-up.

Examples

She listened to the concert voicelessly, overwhelmed by the emotion of the music.
Laurie questioned to herself voicelessly.

Fiction book (1999)
That night he dreamt of her decapitated head floating down a river, her mouth opening and shutting, singing voicelessly.

Fiction book (2002)
The little girl looked up at her mother and nodded voicelessly, understanding what was needed.

Synonyms

silently

vsvoicelessly

129 1.2

In a quiet way without making any sound or speaking

refers specifically to not producing voice sounds rather than general quiet

wordlessly

vsvoicelessly

6 3.9

To do something without speaking or using words

focuses on avoiding vocal sound rather than absence of words

soundlessly

vsvoicelessly

5 4.4

In a way that makes no sound

allows nonvocal noises sometimes but avoids use of the voice

mutely

vsvoicelessly

3 5.6

Without speaking or making any sound

avoids making vocal sounds rather than only refraining from speech

noiselessly

vsvoicelessly

3 4.4

Without making any sound

centers on not using vocal sounds rather than overall environmental silence

Antonyms

vocally

13 4.0

To speak so others can hear your opinion

Surface Forms

voicelessly positive

Morphology

voicelessly = voiceless (transparent) = voice + less + ly

The adverb is directly formed by adding '-ly' to the adjective 'voiceless' (voice + -less), so learners who know 'voice' and common affixes can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Voicelessly comes from voice, from Latin vox meaning 'voice', plus -less ('without') and -ly. So to do something voicelessly is to do it 'without a voice', like mouthing words or staying silent, which is why the word means not using the voice.