silence

[ sahy-luhns ]

/ ˈsaɪ ləns /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR silence ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

absence of any sound or noise; stillness.

the state or fact of being silent; muteness.

absence or omission of mention, comment, or expressed concern: the conspicuous silence of our newspapers on local graft.

the state of being forgotten; oblivion: in the news again after years of silence.

concealment; secrecy.

verb (used with object), si·lenced, si·lenc·ing.

to put or bring to silence; still.

to put (doubts, fears, etc.) to rest; quiet.

Military. to still (enemy guns), as by more effective fire.

interjection

be silent! “Silence!” the teacher shouted.

Origin of silence

1175–1225; Middle English (noun) < Old French < Latin silentium. See silent, -ence

SYNONYMS FOR silence

6 hush, quell, muzzle, gag.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR silence ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM silence

o·ver·si·lence, noun un·si·lenced, adjective

Words nearby silence

silastic, silbury hill, sild, sildenafil citrate, sile, silence, silence is golden, silenced, silencer, silene, silenos

Example sentences from the Web for silencing

When it was his turn to speak, Ostronic warned that Kimberlin was trying to “enlist” the jury in a silencing of free speech.

The Weirdest Story About a Conservative Obsession, a Convicted Bomber, and Taylor Swift You Have Ever Read |David Weigel |August 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
When the warrior runs into the Stark soldiers, she disposes of them with extreme prejudice, silencing the chatty Jaime.

Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie on Brienne of Tarth’s Epic S4 Finale Showdown with The Hound |Marlow Stern |June 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
But the move also represents a growing sophistication in its approach to silencing critics.

Moscow’s War on Social Media Claims a New Casualty |Jacob Siegel |April 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The silencing that results encourages users to do so alone, leaving no one to catch them when things turn deadly.

The White Collar Heroin Problem |Abby Haglage |February 4, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Silencing us does not change the truth of military occupation.

J Street U Rejected for Standing Behind IDF Soldiers |Oded Na'aman |October 11, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
With one noble exception, this mandate of the church and clergy had effect for a time in silencing womans plea for the slave.

Woman, Church & State |Matilda Joslyn Gage
This man is no eavesdropper; your evil secrets have only a sobering and a saddening and a silencing effect upon him.

Bunyan Characters - Third Series |Alexander Whyte
There arose now a chorus of voices which their leader had some difficulty in silencing.

Peter Ruff and the Double Four |E. Phillips Oppenheim
Which hint had the effect of silencing the discussion for that time.

The New Penelope and Other Stories and Poems |Frances Fuller Victor
The impudence, the inveteracy of that fellow, is astonishing—no silencing him.

Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10) |Maria Edgeworth

British Dictionary definitions for silencing

silence

/ (ˈsaɪləns) /

noun

the state or quality of being silent

the absence of sound or noise; stillness

refusal or failure to speak, communicate, etc, when expected his silence on the subject of their promotion was alarming

a period of time without noise

oblivion or obscurity

verb (tr)

to bring to silence

to put a stop to; extinguish to silence all complaint

Word Origin for silence

C13: via Old French from Latin silēntium, from silēre to be quiet. See silent

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

silence

noun

verb (used with object), si·lenced, si·lenc·ing.

interjection

Origin of silence

SYNONYMS FOR silence

OTHER WORDS FROM silence

Words nearby silence

Example sentences from the Web for silencing

British Dictionary definitions for silencing

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for silence

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

silence

noun

verb (used with object), si·lenced, si·lenc·ing.

interjection

Origin of silence

SYNONYMS FOR silence

OTHER WORDS FROM silence

Words nearby silence

Words related to silencing

Example sentences from the Web for silencing

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for silencing

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for silence

British Dictionary definitions for silencing