silence
Americannoun
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absence of any sound or noise; stillness.
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the state or fact of being silent; muteness.
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absence or omission of mention, comment, or expressed concern.
the conspicuous silence of our newspapers on local graft.
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the state of being forgotten; oblivion.
in the news again after years of silence.
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concealment; secrecy.
verb (used with object)
interjection
noun
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the state or quality of being silent
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the absence of sound or noise; stillness
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refusal or failure to speak, communicate, etc, when expected
his silence on the subject of their promotion was alarming
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a period of time without noise
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oblivion or obscurity
verb
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to bring to silence
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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”; silent
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.
The subsequent track, Normal, is billed as "exploring the space between spotlight and silence" and expresses ambivalence about the cost of celebrity, with lyrics about surviving criticism and having to fake happiness for the cameras.
From BBC
Ruth's voice is so uncomfortable that it's the only way they can silence her.
From Barron's
After a long silence, Severus tapped his brow and said to them: “Do you understand now that it is the head that is in charge, not the feet?”
His lawyer David Osborne argued that public officials could not use the courts to "silence" criticism simply because it hurt their feelings.
From BBC
Yet the 95-year-old said she felt she had to speak out: “My silence ends here.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
