Definition of “silence” - English Dictionary

American
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“silence” in English

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silencenoun

uk ​ /ˈsaɪ.ləns/ us ​ /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

silence noun (NO SPEAKING)

B1 [ U ] a state of not speaking or writing or making a noise:

The soldiers listened in silence as their captain gave the orders.
"Silence! (= Stop talking!)" shouted the teacher.
My request for help was met with silence (= I received no answer).
Their mother's angry words reduced the children to silence.

B2 [ C ] a period of time in which there is complete quiet or no speaking:

Their conversation was punctuated by uncomfortable silences.

C2 [ U or C ] a state of refusing to talk about something or answer questions, or a state of not communicating:

My request for help was met with silence (= I received no answer).
Her silence about/on what had happened to her surprised everyone.
I don't expect to hear from her now, after three years' silence (= three years in which she has not spoken or written to me).

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Idiom(s)

silence is golden

silenceverb [ T ]

uk ​ /ˈsaɪ.ləns/ us ​ /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

› to make someone or something be quiet:

The teacher raised his voice to silence the class (= to make them stop talking).
Her remark about his appearance completely silenced him (= made him unable to answer).
figurative The enemy's guns were silenced (= made to stop firing) in a surprise attack.

› to prevent someone from expressing their views or from criticizing or opposing someone:

Big companies file lawsuits to silence their critics.
The more they try to silence us, the more we will speak out.
Al Capone silenced his opponents by killing them.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

(Definition of “silence” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“silence” in American English

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silencenoun

us ​ /ˈsɑɪ·ləns/

silence noun (QUIET)

› [ U ] an absence of sound; complete quiet:

A profound silence spread itself through the sleeping house.

silence noun (NO SPEAKING)

› [ C/U ] a state of not speaking or making noise:

[ U ] The two men ate in silence and listened to traffic swishing past on the highway.
[ C ] Her question was followed by a long silence (= a long period of time in which no one spoke).

silenceverb [ T ]

us ​ /ˈsɑɪ·ləns/

silence verb [ T ] (STOP FROM SPEAKING)

› to stop someone from speaking or from criticizing:

Successful action could silence the administration’s critics.

(Definition of “silence” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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