silence
Contents
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old French silence, from Latin silentium (“silence”).
NounEdit
silence (usually uncountable, plural silences)
- The lack of any sound.
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When the motor stopped, the silence was almost deafening.
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- The act of refraining from speaking.
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"You have the right to silence," said the police officer.
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1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
- Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.
- D. Webster
- The administration itself keeps a profound silence.
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- Form of meditative worship practiced by the Society of Friends (Quakers); meeting for worship.
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During silence a message came to me that there was that of God in every person.
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SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from silence (noun)
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
lack of any sound
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Not speaking as meditation or prayer
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Right to not speak during arrest
VerbEdit
silence (third-person singular simple present silences, present participle silencing, simple past and past participle silenced)
- (transitive) To make (someone or something) silent.
- Can you silence the crowd, so we can start the show?
- (transitive) To suppress criticism, etc.
- Silence the critics.
- Silence the doubters.
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2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian[1]:
- A state ideology, mixing nationalism, and basic Marxist economics, going under the name "Juche", was constructed, and Kim Il-sung effectively silenced, disposed of and cleared away any opposition, isolating the country and exercising an iron grip on the military, the state media and the government and party organs.
- (molecular biology) To block gene expression.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
To make something silent
To suppress criticism
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See alsoEdit
InterjectionEdit
silence
- A common imperative instructing the addressed to remain silent.
- Silence! Enough of your insolence!
TranslationsEdit
common imperative instructing the addressed to remain silent
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SynonymsEdit
StatisticsEdit
Most common English words before 1923 in Project Gutenberg: regard · married · slowly · #702: silence · afterwards · horses · wonder
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
silence m (plural silences)
AntonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “silence” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).