Silence

['saɪləns]

Definition

(noun.) the absence of sound; 'he needed silence in order to sleep'; 'the street was quiet'.

(noun.) the state of being silent (as when no one is speaking); 'there was a shocked silence'; 'he gestured for silence'.

(verb.) keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure; 'All dissenters were silenced when the dictator assumed power'.

Checked by Carlton--From WordNet

Definition

(n.) The state of being silent; entire absence of sound or noise; absolute stillness.

(n.) Forbearance from, or absence of, speech; taciturnity; muteness.

(n.) Secrecy; as, these things were transacted in silence.

(n.) The cessation of rage, agitation, or tumilt; calmness; quiest; as, the elements were reduced to silence.

(n.) Absence of mention; oblivion.

(interj.) Be silent; -- used elliptically for let there be silence, or keep silence.

(v. t.) To compel to silence; to cause to be still; to still; to hush.

(v. t.) To put to rest; to quiet.

(v. t.) 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.

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

Inputed by Delia

Synonyms and Synonymous

n. [1]. Stillness, noiselessness, quiet, calm.[2]. Taciturnity, muteness, dumbness.[3]. Oblivion, obscurity.

v. a. [1]. Still, hush, gag, stifle, muzzle, muffle, put to silence.[2]. Allay, quiet, calm, put to rest, put an end to.

interj. Hush, whist, mum, soft, tush, chut, tut, be still, be silent, hold your tongue.

Typed by Jennifer

Synonyms and Antonyms

SYN:Still, stifle, hush, allay, quiet, calm,[See ABRIDGE]

SYN:Taciturnity, stillness, calm, peace, hush, muteness, secrecy, oblivion

ANT:Garrulity, loquacity, talkativeness, chatter, noise, brawl, clamor, clatter,din, Babel, tumult, agitation, restlessness, storm, unrest, roar, bruit,reverberation, resonance, commotion, cackling, proclamation, publicity, fame,rumor, remembrance, repute, celebrity

Checker: Salvatore

Definition

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."

Checked by Casey

Examples

She stood looking at him in gloomy, heavy silence, for some time. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
Bradley, very white, sat looking at him in silence. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
There was a short silence, during which the two spectators approached the bed. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
So we kept our watch together in silence. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
A clock in the schoolroom struck nine; Miss Miller left her circle, and standing in the middle of the room, cried-- Silence! Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
There was silence for a time. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
The daughter had been found; but only one man besides Bulstrode knew it, and he was paid for keeping silence and carrying himself away. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
Her answer silenced me for the moment. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
When Thrasymachus has been silenced, the two principal respondents, Glaucon and Adeimantus, appear on the scene: here, as in Greek tragedy (cp. Plato. The Republic.
Elizabeth hoped she had silenced him; but he soon afterwards said: I was surprised to see Darcy in town last month. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
The loud, clear voice of a man in authority silenced the low hum of talking all round me in an instant. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
Well, said she, and you soon silenced Mr. Cole, I suppose? Jane Austen. Emma.
I was silenced. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
The bare doubt that it might be so drove me from her presence, and silenced even the common forms of farewell on my lips. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
The only conceivable escape for him lay in silencing my tongue. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
For nearly five and a half hours the attack was kept up without silencing a single gun of the enemy. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.

Edited by Constantine