mouthed

Mouthed is the past tense and past participle of the verb mouth. It is used to describe the action of forming words with the lips and tongue without producing audible sound, or to express meaning by moving the lips while remaining quiet. In everyday use, someone may mouth words such as a greeting or a thank-you, or mouth an apology, implying silent or unvoiced delivery.

In narrative and descriptive writing, mouthing is often used to convey subtler communication, such as secrecy, insincerity, or emphasis without vocalization. The phrase can also indicate that a person is attempting to speak but is not heard aloud, either due to the setting or deliberate restraint.

Etymology traces the verb to the noun mouth; the concept of mouthing words has long been part of English, with the verb form appearing in various historical contexts to describe silent or near-silent articulation.

Related terms include lip-reading, silent speech, and articulation. While largely a verb, mouthed can occasionally occur in adjectival or participial phrases describing actions or gestures that resemble or resemble a mouth’s movement, though this usage is less common and context-dependent.

See also: mouth, lip-reading, silent speech, articulation.