silence

American  

[sahy-luhns] / ˈsaɪ ləns /

noun

1. absence of any sound or noise; stillness.

2. the state or fact of being silent; muteness.

3. absence or omission of mention, comment, or expressed concern.

   the conspicuous silence of our newspapers on local graft.

4. the state of being forgotten; oblivion.

   in the news again after years of silence.

5. concealment; secrecy.

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verb (used with object)

silences, present (3rd person singular) silenced, past participle, past silencing present participle

1. to put or bring to silence; still.

   Synonyms:

   gag, muzzle, quell, hush

2. to put (doubts, fears, etc.) to rest; quiet.

3. Military. to still (enemy guns), as by more effective fire.

interjection

1. be silent! “Silence!” the teacher shouted.

silence British  

/ ˈsaɪləns /

noun

1. the state or quality of being silent

2. the absence of sound or noise; stillness

3. refusal or failure to speak, communicate, etc, when expected

   his silence on the subject of their promotion was alarming

4. a period of time without noise

5. oblivion or obscurity

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verb

1. to bring to silence

2. to put a stop to; extinguish

   to silence all complaint

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unsilenced
  adjective
• oversilence
  noun

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have silenced
  perfect
• has silenced
  perfect 3rd person singular
• is silencing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am silencing
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been silencing
  perfect progressive
• silencing
  participle
• silences
  singular 3rd person
• are silencing
  progressive
• has been silencing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular

Past

• had silenced
  perfect
• had been silencing
  perfect progressive
• was silencing
  progressive singular
• silenced
  participle
• were silencing
  progressive plural
• silenced
  simple

Future

• will silence
  simple
• will have silenced
  perfect
• will have been silencing
  perfect progressive
• will be silencing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of silence

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English (noun), from Old French, from Latin silentium, derivative of silēre “to be quiet”; cf. silent

Explanation

Silence is quietness, or a lack of sound. When you silence a noisy movie-goer, you shush her. When there's silence, nothing is heard. Silence is empty, the opposite of a noisy racket. A library is one place where there's supposed to be silence so people can concentrate. To silence someone is to hush him up or tell him to be quiet. Silence also has a more disturbing meaning: if someone threatens you to keep you from saying something, she's trying to silence you. Censorship silences free speech.

Example Sentences

“The Silence of the Lambs” remains the only horror film to win best picture at the Academy Awards.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

Amanda is enraptured with its aspirational luxury: “The house had that hush expensive houses do. Silence meant the house was plumb, solid, its organs working in happy harmony.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

Playing property tycoon Nile Jarvis, Rhys said that he "stole" some of the character's traits from Sir Anthony Hopkins' Oscar-winning performance in The Silence of The Lambs.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

Bellowing "Silence, everyone!" to terrified parliamentarians, the man with a bushy moustache and shiny tricorn quickly caught the public's attention in an image engraved on the nation's collective memory.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Silence hides secrets, holds back fears, but it also binds with loyalty and love.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Related Words

• cut off
• gag
• muffle
• mute
• muzzle
• quash
• quell
• squelch
• stifle
• subdue
• suppress