silence

SaySY-luhns/ˈsaɪləns/UK/ˈsaɪl(ə)ns/

9 meanings of silence

1
noununcountable
A time when there is no sound at all.
Like a quiet night when even the wind has stopped.
The silence in the room made her feel calm.
After the music stopped, a deep silence filled the hall.
Similarquiet, stillness, hush, quietness
Oppositenoise, sound, din
Note
2
noununcountable
The act of not speaking when you could.
Her silence during the meeting surprised everyone.
He kept his silence even when they asked him directly.
Similarreticence
Note
3
verbtransitive
To make someone or something stop making noise.
Like turning the sound off on a TV.
She raised her hand to silence the crowd.
One sharp look can silence a noisy classroom.
Similarmute
4
verbtransitive
To stop people from saying things that criticize you.
The company tried to silence the unhappy workers.
They used threats to silence anyone who complained.
Similarmuzzle, gag, suppress, stifle, censor
5
verbtransitive
To hold back feelings or thoughts so they are not shown.
She tried to silence her fear and keep walking.
He could not silence the doubts in his mind.
Similarsuppress, stifle, repress, smother
Oppositeexpress
6
interjectionimperative
Said to order people to stop talking right away.
Silence! The principal is about to speak.
Silence, please. The show is starting.
Similarquiet
Note
7
noununcountable
A quiet time without speaking, used for prayer or deep thinking.
Like the quiet moment in a library where everyone is busy thinking.
The group sat in silence for ten minutes before the meeting began.
She found peace in the silence of morning prayer.
Note
8
verbeuphemistictransitive
To kill or murder a person.
The gang threatened to silence the only witness.
They feared someone would silence him before the trial.
Similarkill, murder, eliminate
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9
verbtransitive
To turn off a gene so it stops working.
Like switching off one light while the rest stay on.
Scientists can silence a gene to study what it does.
The treatment works by silencing a harmful gene.
Note

Practice

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Origin

From Latin silentium, meaning "silence," which came from silere, "to be quiet." It reached English through Old French.