Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

omertà

American  
[aw-mer-tah, oh-mer-tuh] / ˌɔ mɛrˈtɑ, oʊˈmɛr tə /

noun

Italian.
  1. secrecy sworn to by oath; code of silence.


omertà British  
/ omerˈta /

noun

  1. a conspiracy of silence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Who broke the Cosa Nostra oath of omertà?

From Salon • Aug. 18, 2022

“It broke a wall of silence — the omertà — of nearly half a century, where misbehavior went unreported,” said Marty Appel, a former public relations director for the Yankees and author of “Pinstripe Empire.”

From New York Times • Jun. 19, 2020

“A much more proactive stance. Of the sort like sending your top prosecutor to investigate Chile. A stance where the pope, when he sees or suspects an institutional omertà, he reacts.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2018

But when men die on stag weekends, silence becomes codified into omertà.

From The Guardian • Apr. 8, 2018

Without omertà the mafia would hardly flourish, and the mafia is not so easy to understand. 

From Castellinaria and Other Sicilian Diversions by Jones, Henry Festing