silent treatment
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of silent treatment
First recorded in 1945–50
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.
We don’t like confrontation, in daily life at least, and we are masters of the silent treatment, hidden meanings and passive aggression.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
About times he’d argued with his wife and given her the silent treatment.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2025
He did not want to speak after Saturday's round, but he did and in so doing broke his silent treatment of the media.
From BBC • Jun. 16, 2025
PSG supporters kept protesting at Parc des Princes by giving their team the silent treatment.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 28, 2024
I’d rather stand outside in the cold, waiting for my mom in the carpool line, than stand inside getting the silent treatment.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
