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

Sitting in the cab of an electric lorry for the first time, I am struck by the silence.

From BBC

The document alleges there were "attempts to silence and to take detrimental action against individuals who raised patient safety concerns".

From BBC

The sound bounced off every corner of the square as 50,000 spectators, some of them war veterans, sat in silence.

From BBC

They are less so now and another good year should silence them once and for all.

From BBC

They expressed alarm over the "torture to silence opposition and critics" ahead of the elections, and called on the government to "immediately" stop it.

From BBC

Related Words

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