silence (n.)

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

  2. the absence of sound; he needed silence in order to sleep; the street was quiet

    [ Syn: quiet ]

  3. a refusal to speak when expected; his silence about my contribution was surprising

    [ Syn: muteness ]

  4. the trait of keeping things secret

    [ Syn: secrecy , secretiveness ]

    silence (v.)

  1. cause to be quiet or not talk; Please silence the children in the church!

    [ Syn: hush , quieten , still , shut up , hush up ]

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

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.