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)

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 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

• oversilence
  noun
• unsilenced
  adjective

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

"And to anybody experiencing any kind of incontinence, you do not need to suffer in silence - please go and see your GP and try and get a referral to a pelvic health specialist physiotherapist."

From BBC • May 13, 2026

He added that he had not spoken to his mother for more than a week and that every day of silence "makes it worse".

From BBC • May 13, 2026

But judges also have ethical obligations that typically prevent them from speaking directly to these ongoing threats, as well as an orientation toward maintaining silence on public political matters.

From Slate • May 12, 2026

"Do not let another innocent life be lost in silence and without public attention," he said.

From Barron's • May 11, 2026

For a tick of time, Clare hung there in the warm silence, glowing against the obscurity like a single, gauzy star.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

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