What does Silence mean?
Definitions for Silence
ˈsaɪ lənssi·lence
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Silence.
Princeton's WordNet
silencenoun
the state of being silent (as when no one is speaking)
"there was a shocked silence"; "he gestured for silence"
silence, quietnoun
the absence of sound
"he needed silence in order to sleep"; "the street was quiet"
muteness, silencenoun
a refusal to speak when expected
"his silence about my contribution was surprising"
secrecy, secretiveness, silenceverb
the trait of keeping things secret
hush, quieten, silence, still, shut up, hush upverb
cause to be quiet or not talk
"Please silence the children in the church!"
silenceverb
keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure
"All dissenters were silenced when the dictator assumed power"
Wiktionary
silencenoun
The lack of any sound.
When the motor stopped, the silence was almost deafening.
silencenoun
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.
silencenoun
The action of refraining from speaking.
"You have the right to silence," said the police officer.
silenceverb
To make something silent.
Can you silence the crowd, so we can start the show?
silenceverb
To suppress criticism etc.
silenceverb
To block gene expression.
silenceinterjection
be quiet
Etymology: From silence.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Silenceinterj.
An authoritative restraint of speech.
Sir, have pity; I’ll be his surety. ——
—— Silence: one word more
Shall make me chide thee, if not hate thee. William Shakespeare.Silencenoun
Etymology: silence, French; silentium, Latin.
Unto me men gave ear, and waited and kept silence at my counsel. Job xxix. 21.
I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 1 Tim. ii. 12.
First to himself he inward silence broke. John Milton.
I think the best grace of wit will shortly turn into silence,
And discourse grow commendable in none but parrots. William Shakespeare.Here all their rage, and ev’n their murmurs cease,
And sacred silence reigns, and universal peace. Alexander Pope.Thus fame shall be atchiev’d,
And what most merits fame in silence hid. John Milton.To Silenceverb
To still; to oblige to hold peace.
Etymology: from the noun
We must suggest the people, that to’s pow’r
He wou’d have made them mules, silenc’ d their pleaders, and
Dispropertied their freedoms. William Shakespeare.The ambassador is silenc’ d. William Shakespeare, Hen. VIII.
Silence that dreadful bell; it frights the isle
From her propriety. William Shakespeare, Othello.This passed as an oracle, and silenced those that moved the question. Francis Bacon, Hen. VII.
Thus could not the mouths of worthy martyrs be silenced, who being exposed unto wolves, gave loud expressions of their faith, and were heard as high as heaven. Thomas Browne, Vulgar Err.
This would silence all further opposition. Edward Hyde.
Since in dark sorrow I my days did spend,
I could not silence my complaints. John Denham.These dying lovers, and their floating sons,
Suspend the fight and silence all our guns. Edmund Waller.Had they duly considered the extent of infinite knowledge and power, these would have silenced their scruples, and they had adored the amazing mystery. John Rogers, Sermons.
If it please him altogether to silence me, so that I shall not only speak with difficulty, but wholly be disabled to open my mouth, to any articulate utterance; yet I hope he will give me grace, even in my thoughts, to praise him. William Wake.
The thund’rer spoke, nor durst the queen reply;
A reverend horror silenc’ d all the sky. Alexander Pope, Iliad.
Wikipedia
Silence
Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the cessation or absence of any form of communication, whether through speech or other medium.Sometimes speakers fall silent when they hesitate in searching for a word, or interrupt themselves before correcting themselves. Discourse analysis shows that people use brief silences to mark the boundaries of prosodic units, in turn-taking, or as reactive tokens, for example, as a sign of displeasure, disagreement, embarrassment, desire to think, confusion, and the like. Relatively prolonged intervals of silence can be used in rituals; in some religious disciplines, people maintain silence for protracted periods, or even for the rest of their lives, as an ascetic means of spiritual transformation.
ChatGPT
silence
Silence is the absence of sound or noise, a state of quietness or stillness. It refers to the lack of any audible vibrations or disturbances in the environment. Silence can also pertain to the absence of speech or communication, where individuals refrain from speaking.
Webster Dictionary
Silencenoun
the state of being silent; entire absence of sound or noise; absolute stillness
Silencenoun
forbearance from, or absence of, speech; taciturnity; muteness
Silencenoun
secrecy; as, these things were transacted in silence
Silencenoun
the cessation of rage, agitation, or tumilt; calmness; quiest; as, the elements were reduced to silence
Silencenoun
absence of mention; oblivion
Silence
be silent; -- used elliptically for let there be silence, or keep silence
Silenceverb
to compel to silence; to cause to be still; to still; to hush
Silenceverb
to put to rest; to quiet
Silenceverb
to restrain from the exercise of any function, privilege of instruction, or the like, especially from the act of preaching; as, to silence a minister of the gospel
Silenceverb
to cause to cease firing, as by a vigorous cannonade; as, to silence the batteries of an enemy
Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]
Wikidata
Silence
Silence is the lack of audible sound or presence of sounds of very low intensity. By analogy, the word silence can also refer to any absence of communication, including in media other than speech. Silence is also used as total communication, in reference to non verbal communication and spiritual connection. Silence also refers to no sounds uttered by anybody in a room or area. Silence is an important factor in many cultural spectacles, as in rituals. In discourse analysis, speakers use brief absences of speech to mark the boundaries of prosodic units. Silence in speech can be hesitation, stutters, self-correction—or deliberate slowing of speech to clarify or aid processing of ideas. These are short silences. Longer pauses in language occur in interactive roles, reactive tokens, or turn-taking. According to cultural norms, silence can be positive or negative. For example, in a Christian Methodist faith organization silence and reflection during the sermons might be appreciated by the congregation, while in a Southern Baptist church, silence might mean disagreement with what is being said, or perhaps disconnectedness from the congregated community.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Silence
sī′lens, n. state of being silent: absence of sound or speech: muteness: cessation of agitation: calmness: oblivion.—v.t. to cause to be silent: to put to rest: to stop.—interj. be silent!—adj. Sī′lent, free from noise: not speaking: habitually taciturn: still: not pronounced: of distilled spirit, without flavour or odour.—n. Silen′tiary, one who keeps order in an assembly.—adv. Sī′lently.—n. Sī′lentness=Silence. [L. silēre, to be silent.]
The Roycroft Dictionary
silence
A trick of the human gullet that conceals weakness or emptiness.
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
silence
To cause to cease firing by a vigorous cannonade; as, to silence the batteries of an enemy.
Suggested Resources
silence
Song lyrics by silence -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by silence on the Lyrics.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
SILENCE
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Silence is ranked #57914 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Silence surname appeared 351 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Silence.
96.3% or 338 total occurrences were White.
1.4% or 5 total occurrences were Black.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'Silence' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1783
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'Silence' in Nouns Frequency: #812
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Anagrams for Silence »
license
selenic
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of Silence in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of Silence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Examples of Silence in a Sentence
Silence is a text easy to misread.
Silence is love's own peculiar eloquence of bliss.
Thundering in my head; the sound of silence overwhelms.
And so artists who go to that edge and push outwards often find very powerful forces pushing back. They find the forces of silence opposing the forces of speech. The forces of censorship against the forces of utterance, at that boundary is that push-and-pull between more and less. And that push and pull can be very dangerous to the artist. And many artists have suffered terribly for that.
The Pledge-in the tradition of Washington's Farewell Address or Lincoln's Gettysburg Address-is not a prayer to God, but a statement about who we are as a nation. Dissenters have every right to sit out the Pledge, but they can't silence everyone else.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for Silence
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- stilteAfrikaans
- صهٍ!, سكوت, صمت, صمتًا!, يجعلـ ... يصمت, الصمتArabic
- sükutAzerbaijani
- тынлыҡBashkir
- цішыня, маўчаннеBelarusian
- мълчание, тишинаBulgarian
- didrouzBreton
- silenciCatalan, Valencian
- ticho, utišit, mlčení, umlčetCzech
- тишинаOld Church Slavonic, Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian
- tawelwch, distawrwyddWelsh
- tavshed, stilhedDanish
- zum Schweigen bringen, Schweigen, Ruhe!, StilleGerman
- σιωπή, σιγήGreek
- silentoEsperanto
- silencio, silenciar, cállate, hacer callarSpanish
- vaikusEstonian
- خاموشی, سکوتPersian
- hiljaisuus, hiljentää, äänettömyysFinnish
- tøgnFaroese
- silence, le silenceFrench
- tostIrish
- sàmhchair, tosdScottish Gaelic
- silencioGalician
- שקטHebrew
- ख़ामोशी, चुप्पीHindi
- csöndet!, csönd, csend legyen!, csend!, csendet!, csend, csönd legyen!, csönd!Hungarian
- լռությունArmenian
- DiamIndonesian
- silencoIdo
- þögn, þögn!, róIcelandic
- silenzioItalian
- שתיקהHebrew
- 静寂, 静けさ, 黙秘Japanese
- დუმილიGeorgian
- тыныштық, жайшылықKazakh
- ಮೌನKannada
- 침묵Korean
- بێدهنگKurdish
- silentiumLatin
- tylaLithuanian
- klusumsLatvian
- тишина, молчењеMacedonian
- tolong senyapMalay
- stillhetNorwegian
- zwijgen, stilte, stilzwijgen, stilte!Dutch
- hysj!, ro, roe, taushet, togn, stille!Norwegian
- geʼ, nizééʼNavajo, Navaho
- milczenie, ciszaPolish
- ګنګه روژه, چوپتياPashto, Pushto
- silenciar, silêncioPortuguese
- tăcere, tăcere!, liniște!, linișteRomanian
- тишина, молчи, заглушить, молчание, заткнуть ротRussian
- му̑к, тишѝна, mȗk, tišìnaSerbo-Croatian
- ticho, mlčanieSlovak
- molk, tišinaSlovene
- heshtjeAlbanian
- tysta, tyst!, tystnadSwedish
- ம .னம்Tamil
- నిశ్శబ్దముTelugu
- ความเงียบThai
- ümsümlikTurkmen
- sessizlik, susturmak, sükutTurkish
- тынлыкTatar
- мовчання, тишаUkrainian
- خاموشیUrdu
- yên lặngVietnamese
- seilVolapük
- שטילקייַטYiddish
- 沉默Chinese
- ukuthulaZulu
Get even more translations for Silence »
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