22 August 2017
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
I became irrational and flunked the tough-guy test, the show-me-the-evidence test, the taciturn Gary Cooper test.
Warren Buffett’s Cancer Decoded
Kent Sepkowitz
April 18, 2012
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
titan cur
attic run
tunic art
Today’s quote
We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.
– Ray Bradbury
On this day
22 August 565 – St Columba claims to see a monster in Loch Ness.
22 August 1572 – attempted assassination of Admiral de Coligny, a leading Heugonet Protestant, in Paris. The following day, the main suspects (the Guises, who were the Cardinal of Lorraine and his nephews) broke into Coligny’s room and dragged him from his sickbed, killed him and threw him from the window. The event triggered the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre on 23-24 August 1572.
22 August 1770 – Captain James Cook sets foot on the east cost of Australia.
22 August 1864 – signing of the First Geneva Convention (for ‘Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field’)
22 August 1917 – birth of John Lee Hooker, American blues guitarist. Died 21 June 2001.
22 August 1920 – birth of Ray Bradbury, American fantasy, science-fiction, horror and mystery fiction writer. Author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustratred Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The movie Butterfly Effect uses a similar theory to that described in Bradbury’s short-story A Sound of Thunder. In one scene, a Sound of Thunder pennant is hanging on the dormitory door of the main character, Evan. Michael Moore’s movie Fahrenheit 9/11 was named after Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury was not happy with this and pressured Moore to change the title, which Moore refused to do. Died 5 June 2012.
22 August 1963 – birth of Tori Amos, American pianist/singer.