silence.
The absence of any sound.
Meaning & usage
The absence of any sound.
When the motor stopped, the silence was almost deafening.
deadly silence
The act of refraining from speaking.
"You have the right to silence," said the police officer.
Refraining from speaking, for purposes of prayer or meditation; especially, a form of worship practiced by the Society of Friends (Quakers) during meetings.
During silence a message came to me that there was that of God in every person.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English silence, from Old French silence, from Latin silentium (“silence”), from silēns (“quiet, silent”, present participle of silēre) + -ium. Displaced native Old English swīġe and sālnes.
To make (someone or something) silent.
Can you silence the crowd, so we can start the show?
To repress the expression of something.
Women, as well as children, have their thoughts or emotions routinely silenced.
To suppress criticism, etc.
Silence the critics.
Silence the doubters.
To block gene expression.
To murder.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English silence, from Old French silence, from Latin silentium (“silence”), from silēns (“quiet, silent”, present participle of silēre) + -ium. Displaced native Old English swīġe and sālnes.
Be silent.
Silence! Enough of your insolence!
Where this word comes from
From Middle English silence, from Old French silence, from Latin silentium (“silence”), from silēns (“quiet, silent”, present participle of silēre) + -ium. Displaced native Old English swīġe and sālnes.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.