Library / English Dictionary

SILENCE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A refusal to speak when expected

Example:

his silence about my contribution was surprising

Synonyms:

muteness; silence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("silence" is a kind of...):

uncommunicativeness (the trait of being uncommunicative)

Derivation:

silence (cause to be quiet or not talk)

silent (failing to speak or communicate etc when expected to)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The trait of keeping things secret

Synonyms:

secrecy; secretiveness; silence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("silence" is a kind of...):

uncommunicativeness (the trait of being uncommunicative)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "silence"):

mum (secrecy)

Derivation:

silence (keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The absence of sound

Example:

the street was quiet

Synonyms:

quiet; silence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("silence" is a kind of...):

sound property (an attribute of sound)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "silence"):

hush; still; stillness ((poetic) tranquil silence)

speechlessness (the property of being speechless)

quietness; soundlessness (the property of making no sound)

Antonym:

sound (the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause)

Derivation:

silence (cause to be quiet or not talk)

silent (marked by absence of sound)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The state of being silent (as when no one is speaking)

Example:

he gestured for silence

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("silence" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Derivation:

silence (cause to be quiet or not talk)

silent (marked by absence of sound)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to be quiet or not talk

Example:

Please silence the children in the church!

Synonyms:

hush; hush up; quieten; shut up; silence; still

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "silence" is one way to...):

conquer; stamp down; subdue; suppress (bring under control by force or authority)

Cause:

hush (become quiet or still; fall silent)

Verb group:

hush; pipe down; quiesce; quiet; quiet down; quieten (become quiet or quieter)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "silence"):

shush (silence (someone) by uttering 'shush!')

calm down; lull (become quiet or less intensive)

shout down (silence or overwhelm by shouting)

gag; muzzle (prevent from speaking out)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

silence (a refusal to speak when expected)

silence (the absence of sound)

silence (the state of being silent (as when no one is speaking))

silencer (a tubular acoustic device inserted in the exhaust system that is designed to reduce noise)

silencer (short tube attached to the muzzle of a gun that deadens the sound of firing)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure

Example:

All dissenters were silenced when the dictator assumed power

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "silence" is one way to...):

conquer; stamp down; subdue; suppress (bring under control by force or authority)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

silence (the trait of keeping things secret)

Credits

 Context examples: 

We slunk through the bushes in silence until we came to the very edge of the cliff, close to the old camp.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Martin made no further attempt at conversation, and for several blocks unbroken silence lay upon them.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Silencing astrocytes also decreased the rate at which the rats sighed under lower oxygen levels.

(Star-like cells may help the brain tune breathing rhythms, National Institutes of Health)

At this, too, the youngest sister was terribly frightened, but the eldest always silenced her.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I was going on to more particulars, when my master commanded me silence.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

After another short silence—"Pray," said Mrs Smith, "is Mr Elliot aware of your acquaintance with me? Does he know that I am in Bath?"

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

“You cannot think,” added Catherine after a moment's silence, “how surprised I was to see him again. I felt so sure of his being quite gone away.”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

They are involved in transcriptional gene silencing.

(Piwi-Interacting RNA, NCI Thesaurus)

This gene is involved in DNA binding, initiation of DNA replication and transcriptional silencing.

(ORC4L Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

There were three different conclusions to be drawn from his silence, between which her mind was in fluctuation; each of them at times being held the most probable.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)