Taciturn

adjective

Having a quiet, curt or aloof nature

Usage

One of the hardest things is to get someone to talk when they are inclined not to. Perhaps it is because they are shy, they didn't get their morning coffee, or they just don't like people, but if a person is uninterested in talking, there is very little you can do to elicit a response from them. When faced with an individual stubbornly silent, you have encountered a truly taciturn demeanor.

Taciturn is an adjective which characterizes someone who does not say or express very much. As it is a term that describes the nature of one's communication, it is generally used in conjunction with people. Along with conveying that an individual says little, taciturn also implies that there is some social distance between the individual and those who seek to engage with him or her. This social distance can stem from timidity, obliviousness, or any number of factors, but taciturn often implies that it comes from an unsociable character.

While taciturn can illustrate temporary bouts of quietude, it most commonly denotes that one's disinclination to engage in conversation is a permanent trait. In either case, though, a taciturn disposition is often a resolved one, suggesting that the relative silence they maintain is intentional, and sometimes stubborn. Regardless of the reason, one should not expect a taciturn demeanor to change soon or easily.

Example: After breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, the normally bubbly Julia was left taciturn for weeks.

Example: The taciturn diplomat was a formidable negotiating partner, waiting until the other side was worn down before pushing a counteroffer.

Origin

The word taciturn dates all the way back to the Latin word taciturnus, meaning "silent" or "not talkative," which comes from tacitus. The latter is derived from tacere, which means "to be silent." It then emerged in French in the form of the word taciturne before entering the English language in the late 1700s.

Derivative Words

Taciturnity: The noun form of taciturn refers to the quality of being reserved in character.

Example: The teacher's taciturnity encouraged her students to discover the answer for themselves instead of relying on rote learning.

Taciturnly: This is the adverb form of the word, which describes the uncommunicative manner with which an action was done.

Example: A week into giving him the silent treatment, Eric only taciturnly pointed when his roommate asked if he'd gotten any mail.

In Literature

From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice:

We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to posterity with all the éclat of a proverb.

Austen's narrator describes how she and her listener intentionally remain silent, or taciturn, throughout social gatherings so that, if and when they say a witty line, they will be remembered for that, and therefore held in high esteem by the other guests.

From John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley:

I have always heard that Maine people are rather taciturn, but for this candidate for Mount Rushmore to point twice in an afternoon was to be unbearably talkative. He swung his chin in a small arc in the direction I had been traveling. If the afternoon had not been advancing I would have tried another word from him even if doomed to failure. "Thank you," I said, and sounded to myself as though I rattled on forever.

In this encounter with a majestic Maine state trooper, Steinbeck, in his characteristic wit, uses taciturn to illustrate the inclination (or lack thereof) of the trooper to talk.

Mnemonic

Taciturn gives up its turn to talk.
If someone tunes you out, they are taciturn.