si·lence
ˈsī-lən(t)s 
silenced; silencing
1
: to compel or reduce to silence : still
silenced the crowd
2
: suppress
silence dissent
3
: to cause to cease hostile firing or criticism
silence the opposition
4
genetics
: to block the genetic expression of
RNA interference is a natural phenomenon. When a cell senses a double strand of RNA, it acts to silence any genes with the corresponding sequence of bases.—
Andrew Pollack
Andrew PollackSynonyms
Examples of silence in a Sentence
Noun
I find it hard to sleep unless there is complete silence.
The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
We sat there in dead silence.
My sister's revelation was met with stunned silence.
The professor asked for silence.
There was an awkward silence after he confessed his love for her.
A long silence followed her reply.
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.
She finally ended her silence and spoke to the media about what happened.
Verb
My sister's revelation silenced everyone around the table.
Disconnecting the battery will silence the alarm.
The mayor tried to silence his critics.
I will not be silenced!
It's obvious that the purpose of this law is to silence dissent.
Recent Examples on the Web
Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
State of play: 79 of about 119 countries or territories with elections in 2023 and 2024 had pre-election silence periods, per Staffan Darnolf, a senior global adviser at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
—April Rubin, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024
Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 4 Nov. 2024
Prosecutors with the Southern District of New York opposed Combs’ motion, claiming not only was the request broad and overreaching, but would potentially silence accusers who were not part of the criminal case.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for silence 
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Noun
Sometimes someone just wants to be heard and the best response is that of silence.
—Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
State of play: 79 of about 119 countries or territories with elections in 2023 and 2024 had pre-election silence periods, per Staffan Darnolf, a senior global adviser at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.
—April Rubin, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
Sean Diddy Combs and his legal team have moved to silence witnesses off the stand.
—Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 4 Nov. 2024
Prosecutors with the Southern District of New York opposed Combs’ motion, claiming not only was the request broad and overreaching, but would potentially silence accusers who were not part of the criminal case.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for silence
Dictionary Entries Near silence
Cite this Entry
“Silence.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silence. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
silence
1 of 2 noun
si·lence
ˈsī-lən(t)s
1
: the state of keeping or being silent
—often used as an interjection
"Silence!" demanded the maestro
2
: the state of there being no sound or noise : stillness
in the silence of the night
3
a
: a state of not mentioning
b
: secrecy sense 2
research done in silence
silence
2 of 2 verb
silenced; silencing
1
: to stop the noise or speech of : cause to be silent
silenced the class
2
: suppress sense 1
silencing opposing views
Medical Definition
silence
transitive verb
si·lence
ˈsī-lən(t)s
silenced; silencing
: to block the genetic expression of : suppress
the gene was silenced using the technique of RNA interference
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