silence
Contents
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old French silence, from Latin silentium (“silence”).
PronunciationEdit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈsaɪ.ləns/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈsaɪ.ləns/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪləns
NounEdit
silence (usually uncountable, plural silences)
- The lack of any sound.
- When the motor stopped, the silence was almost deafening.
- The act of refraining from speaking.
- "You have the right to silence," said the police officer.
- 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.
- Form of meditative worship practiced by the Society of Friends (Quakers); meeting for worship.
- During silence a message came to me that there was that of God in every person.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Terms derived from silence (noun)
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
lack of any sound
|
|
not speaking as meditation or prayer
|
|
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 repress the expression of something.
- Women, as well as children, have their thoughts or emotions routinely silenced.
- (transitive) To suppress criticism, etc.
- Silence the critics.
- Silence the doubters.
- 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
|
|
See alsoEdit
InterjectionEdit
silence
- (imperative) Be silent.
- Silence! Enough of your insolence!
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
be silent
|
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).