Meaning & use
silence
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Meanings
noununcountable
A state in which there is no sound, or little noise.
Grammar: Often takes the: in the silence, a silence fell.
Patterns
- in silence
- the silence of something
The silence of the forest was broken by a bird.
They sat in silence while the rain fell.
A heavy silence filled the room.
noununcountable
A refusal or failure to speak or give information about something.
Grammar: Often followed by on or over: silence on the issue.
Patterns
- silence on something
- silence over something
The government's silence on the matter worried reporters.
His silence suggested that he disagreed.
She broke her silence in a long interview.
verbtransitive
To make someone or something stop making noise, or to stop a person from speaking out.
Grammar: Needs an object: silence the alarm.
Patterns
- silence someone
- silence the critics
The teacher raised her hand to silence the class.
He quickly silenced his phone.
Threats failed to silence the journalist.
Word forms
| third person singular | silences |
|---|---|
| past tense | silenced |
| past participle | silenced |
| -ing form | silencing |
Common combinations
- deafening silence
- A deafening silence followed the announcement.
- break the silence
- Nobody dared to break the silence.
- in silence
- They ate in silence.
- awkward silence
- An awkward silence settled over the table.
- silence the critics
- The win silenced the critics.
- minute of silence
- The crowd observed a minute of silence.
Synonyms and how they differ
- quiet
- Quiet is lighter and everyday, while silence suggests complete absence of sound.
- hush
- Hush is a brief, soft stillness, often when people stop speaking, rather than a long period.
- stillness
- Stillness stresses lack of movement as well as sound, but silence focuses on sound.
- muzzle
- Muzzle, as a verb, means to prevent speech by force and is harsher than silence.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: silence or science?
silence vs science
Science sounds somewhat similar but means organized knowledge about nature, with no link to quiet.
Practice
The room fell into ___ when the headmaster walked in.
Choose one answer.
After into, a noun is required, and silence is the noun. Silent is an adjective, and silently is an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “silence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.