silence

[sahy-luhns]

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.

verb (used with object)

silenced, silencing 

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

/ 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

verb

1. to bring to silence

2. to put a stop to; extinguish

   to silence all complaint

Other Word Forms

• oversilence noun
• unsilenced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of silence¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of silence¹

C13: via Old French from Latin silēntium, from silēre to be quiet. See _silent

Example Sentences

And performer La Voix's Waltz left the audience and judges in a stunned silence, after a magical waltz in which she became Mary Poppins.

Read more on BBC

"Because if we're sitting in the room, and someone tells us something very difficult about how they almost died in captivity, and we stay silent: it's a very loud silence."

Read more on BBC

The publication, which was bought by CBS News’ parent company Paramount and will continue to operate, has styled itself as a haven for those who feel silenced by mainstream media.

Read more on Salon

Neri and I usually text and talk all day, but with Brad Pitt there, it’s like radio silence from 10 in the morning to 10 at night; she doesn’t respond.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His stern address was mainly met with silence.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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