silence
(Informal)
[noun]
Synonyms:
- quiet, calm, hush, lull, peace, stillness
- muteness, dumbness, reticence, taciturnity
[verb]
Synonyms:
- quieten, cut off, cut short, deaden, gag, muffle, quiet, stifle, still, suppress

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Antonyms: noise
Contrasted words: din, uproar
Related Words: calm, hush, lull, dampen, deaden, dumb, muffle, mute, quash, quell, squash, squelch, suppress, gag, muzzle

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. si‧lence¹ W2 /ˈsaɪləns/ noun
[Word Family: noun: silence, silencer; verb: silence; adverb: silently; adjective: silent]

1. NO NOISE [uncountable] complete absence of sound or noise Synonym : quiet
silence of
Nothing disturbed the silence of the night.
silence falls/descends (on/upon something)
After the explosion, an eerie silence fell upon the scene.
break/shatter the silence
A loud scream shattered the silence.

2. NO TALKING [uncountable and countable] complete quiet because nobody is talking:
There was a brief silence before anyone answered.
in silence
The four men sat in silence.
complete/total/dead silence
‘How long have you been here?’ I asked. There was complete silence.
‘Silence in court!’ roared the judge.
embarrassed/awkward/stunned etc silence
There was an awkward silence between them.
The accused exercised his right to silence (=the legal right to choose to say nothing).

3. NO DISCUSSION/ANSWER [uncountable] failure or refusal to discuss something or answer questions about something
silence on
The government’s silence on such an important issue seems very strange.
Once again the answer was a deafening silence (=a very noticeable refusal to discuss something).

4. NO COMMUNICATION [uncountable] failure to write a letter to someone, telephone them etc:
After two years of silence, he suddenly got in touch with us again.

5. one-minute/two-minute etc silence a period of time in which everyone stops talking as a sign of honour and respect towards someone who has died

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. silence² verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: silence, silencer; verb: silence; adverb: silently; adjective: silent]

1. to make someone stop talking, or stop something making a noise:
She held up her hand to silence the children.

2. to make someone stop expressing opposition or criticisms – used especially in news reports:
attempts to silence the rumours
Barnes has failed to silence his critics.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

silence
noun
I. quietness
ADJ. lengthy, long, prolonged | brief, momentary, a moment's, short There was a moment's silence before she replied.
deep, hushed | absolute, complete, dead, deadly, deathly, total, utter We sat in complete silence, save for the ticking of the clock. A deathly silence hung over the town.
shocked, stunned | awkward, embarrassed, embarrassing, strained, uncomfortable An awkward silence followed.
fraught, heavy, ominous, tense | brooding She fell into long, brooding silences.
stony, sullen | eerie | companionable They walked in companionable silence.
expectant, pregnant | sudden
VERB + SILENCE maintain She maintained a stony silence.
break, interrupt, punctuate, shatter Lewis finally broke the long silence between them. a silence punctuated only by the occasional sniff from the children
lapse into, relapse into, retreat into, subside into, trail into (all only used about people) He lapsed into a sullen silence.
stun sb into The boys were stunned into silence by this news.
be met with Her question was met with an uneasy silence.
observe (= as a sign of respect for the dead, etc.) A minute's silence for the victims will be observed.
SILENCE + VERB descend, fall A sudden silence fell over the room.
hang, prevail, reign Silence reigned.
ensue, follow | deepen, grow, lengthen, spread, stretch He thought for a moment, the silence lengthening.
PREP. in (the) ~ They ate their breakfast in silence.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

silence
II. not saying anything about sth
ADJ. deafening The government's only response has been a deafening silence.
dignified | deliberate
VERB + SILENCE keep, maintain He has so far kept a dignified silence on the subject.
PREP. ~ from There seems to have been a deliberate silence from the newspapers.
PHRASES a conspiracy/wall of silence There is a conspiracy of silence about what is happening (= nobody is willing to talk about it).
the right to silence (= the right not to say anything when accused of a crime), a vow of silence She has broken her vow of silence on the issue.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

silence
verb
ADV. completely | effectively Criticism has now been effectively silenced.
quickly | abruptly, instantly Her scream was abruptly silenced.
VERB + SILENCE try to | manage to | fail to Even these improvements to the service failed to silence a grumbling chorus of complaints.
PREP. with She silenced him with a glare.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

silence

complete/total/absolute/utter silence
They sat in complete silence.
The silence in the room was absolute.
dead silence (=complete silence)
There was a gasp from Peter and then a dead silence.
a long silence
‘He’s dead.’ There was a long silence.
a short/brief silence
After a brief silence, Katherine nodded.
an awkward/uncomfortable/embarrassed silence
‘Fred tells me you like books,’ Steve said, after an awkward silence.
a stunned/shocked silence
There was a stunned silence at the other end of the phone.
stony silence (=unfriendly silence)
Harrison stared at him in stony silence.
a tense silence
There was a brief, tense silence.
an eerie silence (=one that is strange and rather frightening)
An eerie silence descended over the house.
an ominous silence (=one that makes you feel that something bad is going to happen)
‘How long will she be ill?’ There was a short, ominous silence.
a sudden silence
At the mention of John, a sudden silence fell on the room.
there is (a) silence
There was silence in the library for several moments.
break/shatter the silence (=end the silence)
The sound of a car engine broke the silence.
disturb the silence (=end the silence by making a sound)
Nothing moved, no sound disturbed the silence.
silence falls/descends (=a silence begins)
A sudden silence fell over the room.
lapse into silence (=to stop talking and be quiet)
'I don't want any,' he said, and lapsed into silence again.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲