Definitions for silence
ˈsaɪ lənssi·lence

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. silencenoun

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

   "there was a shocked silence"; "he gestured for silence"

2. silence, quietnoun

   the absence of sound

   "he needed silence in order to sleep"; "the street was quiet"

3. muteness, silencenoun

   a refusal to speak when expected

   "his silence about my contribution was surprising"

4. secrecy, secretiveness, silenceverb

   the trait of keeping things secret

5. hush, quieten, silence, still, shut up, hush upverb

   cause to be quiet or not talk

   "Please silence the children in the church!"

6. silenceverb

   keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure

   "All dissenters were silenced when the dictator assumed power"

Wiktionary(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. silencenoun

   The lack of any sound.

   When the motor stopped, the silence was almost deafening.

   Etymology: From silence.

2. 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.

   Etymology: From silence.

3. silencenoun

   The action of refraining from speaking.

   "You have the right to silence," said the police officer.

   Etymology: From silence.

4. silenceverb

   To make something silent.

   Can you silence the crowd, so we can start the show?

   Etymology: From silence.

5. silenceverb

   To suppress criticism etc.

   Etymology: From silence.

6. silenceverb

   To block gene expression.

   Etymology: From silence.

7. silenceinterjection

   be quiet

   Etymology: From silence.

Webster Dictionary(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Silencenoun

   the state of being silent; entire absence of sound or noise; absolute stillness

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

2. Silencenoun

   forbearance from, or absence of, speech; taciturnity; muteness

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

3. Silencenoun

   secrecy; as, these things were transacted in silence

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

4. Silencenoun

   the cessation of rage, agitation, or tumilt; calmness; quiest; as, the elements were reduced to silence

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

5. Silencenoun

   absence of mention; oblivion

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

6. Silence

   be silent; -- used elliptically for let there be silence, or keep silence

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

7. Silenceverb

   to compel to silence; to cause to be still; to still; to hush

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

8. Silenceverb

   to put to rest; to quiet

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

9. 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

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. silentium. See Silent.]

10. 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.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. 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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. silence

   A trick of the human gullet that conceals weakness or emptiness.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. silence

   To cause to cease firing by a vigorous cannonade; as, to silence the batteries of an enemy.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. silence

   Song lyrics by silence -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by silence on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Condition
   • Sound Property
   • Suppress
   • Uncommunicativeness

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'silence' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1783

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'silence' in Nouns Frequency: #812

Anagrams for silence »

1. license, selenic

2. Selenic

How to pronounce silence?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say silence in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of silence in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of silence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of silence in a Sentence

1. Stanislaw Lec:

   There are grammatical errors even in his silence.

2. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross:

   Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.

3. Joe Biden:

   The fact of the matter is it was followed on by a guy who's a decent guy, our vice president, who stood before this group of allies and leaders and said,' I'm here on behalf of President Trump,' and there was dead silence, dead silence.

4. Musin Almat Zhumabekovich:

   When the strings of anger and the psyche are especially tense - these are special strings of reality, a melody of truth is heard that you will never hear anywhere because it has no analogues since it is random. The truth in which the strings are about to break and a frightening silence of smiling madness comes

5. Franz Xavier Kroetz:

   Language exists only on the surface of our consciousness. The great human struggles are played out in silence and in the ability to express oneself.

Images & Illustrations of silence

Popularity rank by frequency of use