"largely silenced" is a bit like "mostly a virgin" or "a little bit pregnant."


Not the same thing, though Alex. "Silence" is at one end of a scale, with "(a word meaning total noise)" at the other. You can, therefore, say "almost silent" to indicate how far along that scale you are.
Pregnancy is an absolute; a binary condition; on or off - either you is or you ain't.
The only scale is that which has fallen of the eye of the ex-maiden concerned.