a state of not speaking or writing or making a noise
The soldiers listened in silence as their captain gave the orders.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
silence
noun
1 (no plural) a situation in which there is no sound:
I can only work in complete silence.
2 (plural silences) a time when nobody speaks or makes a noise:
There was a long silence before she answered the question.
We ate our dinner in silence.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
silence
I. si‧lence1 W2 /ˈsaɪləns/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: noun: ↑silence, ↑silencer; verb: ↑silence; adverb: ↑silently; adjective: ↑silent]
1. NO NOISE [uncountable] complete absence of sound or noise SYN 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
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ adjectives
▪ 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.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
silence
si·lence [silence silences silenced silencing] noun, verb, exclamation [ˈsaɪləns] [ˈsaɪləns]
noun
1. uncountable a complete lack of noise or sound
Syn: quiet
• Their footsteps echoed in the silence.
• A scream broke the silence of the night.
• I need absolute silence when I'm working.
2. countable, uncountable a situation when nobody is speaking
• an embarrassed/awkward silence
• a moment's stunned silence
• I got used to his long silences.
• They finished their meal in total silence.
• She lapsed into silence again.
• There was a deafening silence (= one that is very noticeable).
• a two-minute silence in honour of those who had died
• Her accusations reduced him to silence.
• He's not one to suffer in silence! (= to suffer without telling sb)
3. uncountable, singular a situation in which sb refuses to talk about sth or to answer questions
• She broke her public silence in a TV interview.
• ~ (on sth) The company's silence on the subject has been taken as an admission of guilt.
• the right to silence (= the legal right not to say anything when you are arrested)
• There is a conspiracy of silence about what is happening (= everyone has agreed not to discuss it).
4. uncountable a situation in which people do not communicate with each other by letter or telephone
• The phone call came after months of silence.
more at a heavy silence/atmosphere at heavy adj., a pregnant pause/silence at pregnant
Word Origin:
Middle English: from Old French, from Latin silentium, from silere ‘be silent’.
Thesaurus:
silence noun U
• A cry broke the silence of the night.
peace • • quiet • • hush • • calm • |especially BrE, written tranquillity • |AmE usually tranquility •
Opp: noise
in silence/peace/tranquillity
absolute/total silence/peace/quiet/calm/tranquillity
break the silence/peace/quiet/calm
Example Bank:
• A heavy silence lingered in the air.
• A minute's silence for the victims will be observed.
• A stunned silence greeted her announcement.
• A sudden silence fell over the room.
• An awkward silence followed.
• Celeste's voice penetrated the silence.
• Countries throughout Europe held a three minutes' silence.
• He has so far kept a dignified silence on the subject.
• He lapsed into a sullen silence.
• He thought for a moment, the silence lengthening.
• Her comments were met with a stunned silence.
• Her question was met with an uneasy silence.
• I took her silence as a no.
• Lewis finally broke the long silence between them.
• She fell into long, brooding silences.
• She filled the silence with music.
• She has broken her vow of silence on the issue.
• She maintained a stony silence.
• Silence reigned.
• The boys were stunned into silence by this news.
• The government's only response has been a deafening silence.
• The rest of the trip passed in relative silence.
• The soldier had broken radio silence to contact his aircraft.
• There is a conspiracy of silence about what is happening.
• There seems to have been a deliberate silence from the newspapers.
• There was a moment's silence before she replied.
• They ate their breakfast in silence.
• They observed two minutes' silence to remember the war dead.
• They walked in companionable silence.
• We sat and watched in awed silence as she performed.
• We sat in complete silence, save for the ticking of the clock.
• a debate to break the silence surrounding domestic violence
• a silence punctuated only by the occasional sniff from the children
• Something was moving in silence along the edge of the woods.
Idiom: silence is golden
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
silence / ˈsaɪ.ləns / 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) .
Her silence on/about what had happened to her surprised everyone.
Their mother's angry words reduced the children to silence.
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) .
B2 [ C ] a period of time in which there is complete quiet or no speaking:
Their conversation was punctuated by uncomfortable silences.
Word partners for silence
in silence • reduce sb to silence • break the silence • lapse into silence • meet with silence •
silence descends / falls / follows • a shocked / stunned / stony silence • absolute / complete / total silence • a brief / long / short silence • an awkward / embarrassed / tense / uncomfortable silence • a deafening / eerie silence
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
silence
[sa͟ɪləns]
silences, silencing, silenced
1) N-VAR: oft in/of N If there is silence, nobody is speaking.
They stood in silence...
He never lets those long silences develop during dinner...
Then he bellowed `Silence!'
2) N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n The silence of a place is the extreme quietness there.
...the silence of that rainless, all-concealing fog...
She breathed deeply, savouring the silence.
3) N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N Someone's silence about something is their failure or refusal to speak to other people about it.
The district court ruled that Popper's silence in court today should be entered as a plea of not guilty.
●
PHRASE: V inflects If someone breaks their silence about something, they talk about something that they have not talked about before or for a long time.
Gary decided to break his silence about his son's suffering yesterday in the hope of helping other families cope with the disease.
4) VERB To silence someone or something means to stop them speaking or making a noise.
[V n] A ringing phone silenced her...
[V n] The shock silenced him completely.
5) VERB If someone silences you, they stop you expressing opinions that they do not agree with.
[V n] Like other tyrants, he tried to silence anyone who spoke out against him.
[V n] ...an unsuccessful attempt by the government to silence the debate.
6) VERB To silence someone means to kill them in order to stop them revealing something secret.
[V n] A hit man had been sent to silence her over the affair.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1si·lence /ˈsaɪləns/ noun, pl -lenc·es
1 [noncount] : a lack of sound or noise : quiet
• I find it hard to sleep unless there is complete silence.
• The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
2 : a situation, state, or period of time in which people do not talk
[noncount]
• We sat there in dead/total/complete silence.
• My sister's revelation was met with stunned silence.
• Silence fell/descended upon the room. [=the room became quiet]
• The professor asked for silence.
[count]
• There was an awkward silence after he confessed his love for her.
• A long silence followed her reply.
3 : a situation or state in which someone does not talk about or answer questions about something
[noncount]
• We must break 50 years of silence on issues like the government's involvement in assassination and espionage.
• I will not be intimidated into silence.
• You don't have to suffer in silence. [=suffer or be unhappy without saying anything]
[singular]
• She finally ended her silence and spoke to the media about what happened.
- see also conspiracy of silence
deafening silence
- see deafening
silence is golden
- used to say that it is often better to remain silent than to speak;