26 December 2016
taciturn
[tas-i-turn]
adjective
1. inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation.
2. dour, stern, and silent in expression and manner.
Origin of taciturn
Latin
1765-1775; Latin taciturnus, quiet, maintaining silence, equivalent to tacit (us) silent (see tacit ) + -urnus adj. suffix of time
Related forms
taciturnly, adverb
untaciturn, adjective
untaciturnly, adverb
Synonyms
1. silent, uncommunicative, reticent, quiet.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for taciturn
Contemporary Examples
Tall and taciturn, he exuded the easy authority of a young man used to money and the deference that came with it.
Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius Behind ‘Animal House’ and National Lampoon
Robert Sam Anson
February 28, 2014
No one would confuse him the taciturn, forgetful and vengeful Senate Majority Leader.
Nevada Guv Faces Fans and Foes in Reelection
Lloyd Green
March 17, 2014
The exuberant, indefatigable Democrat from Oregon and the dour, taciturn Republican from New Hampshire made an odd couple.
The Senate’s New Taxman Won’t Be Controlled By His Own Party
Linda Killian
February 17, 2014
But he was also taciturn, rarely betraying his inner thoughts, his friends have said.
Moon Men: The Private Lives of Neil Armstrong and Pals in “Togethersville”
Lily Koppel
August 31, 2012
Historical Examples
Sometimes Master Tommy is obstinate, as well as taciturn, and his “won’t” is as strong as his will.
Manners and Rules of Good Society
Anonymous
Don Saturnino was taciturn and of violent temper, but very industrious.
An Eagle Flight
Jos Rizal
This was the hope which had produced his taciturn resignation and brought that savage smile on his lips.
The Collection of Antiquities
Honore de Balzac
A loquacious advocate is more likely to gain his case than a taciturn one.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop
Little by little, one word at a time, he gained from the taciturn negro an idea of what had taken place while he slept.
“Forward, March”
Kirk Munroe
Anagram
attic urn
tacit run
Today’s quote
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
On this day
26 December – the second day of the 12 days of Christmas (Western Christianity).
26 December 1941 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
26 December 1966 – The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach. a secular festival observed by many African Americans from 26 December to 1 January as a celebration of their cultural heritage and traditional values.
26 December 1982 – Time’s Man of the Year is for the first time a non-human, the personal computer.
26 December 1991 – formal dissolution of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) when the Supreme Soviet dissolved itself following the Alma-Ata Protocol of 21 December 1991 and the resignation of President Gorbachev on 25 December 1991.
26 December 2004 – the Boxing Day tsunami originates in Indonesia and spreads across the Indian Ocean killing 230,000 people in 14 countries. It was triggered by a massive earthquake which registered a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3 and caused the entire planet to vibrate by up to 1cm and caused earthquakes as far away as Alaska.