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”; silent

Example Sentences

So far, an army of coders who love it have silenced many skeptics.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I am looking forward to the silence finally stopping, because 54 years of silence is a long time,” said Bishop Kassianos of Aravissos, the abbot of the seminary.

From The Wall Street Journal

An eerie silence hangs over the place where 650 sheep were being raised.

From BBC

Feelings are conveyed with such airs that the poetry of a moment of silence disappears the instant someone speaks.

From Salon

On Sunday, players and supporters observed a minute's silence at Forest's City Ground ahead of their Premier League game against Brighton.

From BBC

Related Words

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