silent

Totally silent, especially as produces an ominous or foreboding effect. I knew something was wrong when I walked into the meeting room and all the members of the board were silent as the grave. I hate staying in my grandma's house. It gets as silent as the grave at nighttime, and it really creeps me out.

Someone who is closely associated or involved with a business or corporation, typically through financial investment, so as to share in its risks and rewards without participating in its day-to-day operations and management. Primarily heard in US. Dave's father agreed to be a silent partner when we started our company, leaving us to run it once it was set up. In an attempt to crack down on corruption, federal investigators have begun looking into various silent partners that might be financing the drug trade throughout the country.

To be totally silent, especially as produces an ominous or foreboding effect. I knew something was wrong when I walked into the meeting room and all the members of the board were silent as the grave. I hate staying in my grandma's house. It's as silent as the grave at nighttime, and it really creeps me out.

completely silent. (Has ominous connotations because of the reference to death. Usually used to promise someone that you will be silent and therefore not betray a secret. *Also: as ~.) I knew something was wrong as soon as I entered the classroom; everyone was silent as the dead. Jessica is as silent as the grave on the subject of her first marriage. If you tell me what Katy said about me, I promise to be as silent as the grave.

a strong, quiet man. Clark looks like the strong, silent type. Actually he is slightly deaf and that's fat, not muscle.

someone who is closely involved with a company, and often provides money for it, but is not a manager of it He was an extremely wealthy man, and she was hoping he might become a sleeping partner in their new vineyards.

to be completely silent It was four o'clock in the morning and London was as silent as the grave.

the large numbers of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly What does the silent majority expect from a new Labour government?

A group that makes up a majority of voters but does not widely express its views through marches or demonstrations. For example, They thought they had a convincing case, but they hadn't counted on the silent majority. This idiom was first recorded in 1874 but gained currency in the 1960s, when President Richard Nixon claimed that his policies were supported by a majority of citizens who did not bother to make their views known.

A man of action who is reserved and masks his feelings. For example, Paula always preferred the strong silent type to more extroverted men. Almost never used for a woman, this expression may be obsolescent. [c. 1900]