SILENT TREATMENT Synonyms: 17 Similar and Opposite Words

silent treatment

noun

Definition of silent treatment

as in dismissal

treatment that is deliberately unfriendly ever since our run-in at the party she's been giving me the silent treatment

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of silent treatment In the present, they’re awkwardly reunited for his brother’s destination wedding in Barcelona, following two years of mutual silent treatment. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 8 Jan. 2026 Destructive silent treatment creates an imbalanced power dynamic in the relationship. — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025 Brit greets everyone, including Kelli, who opts for the ever-mature silent treatment. — Shelby Stewart, Essence, 22 June 2025 Modern nineteenth-century prisons in various parts of the world, including in the British empire, began to model their own prisons off of the Eastern State Penitentiary, instituting separate and silent treatments that suppressed language. — Amir Hussain june 6, Literary Hub, 6 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for silent treatment

Recent Examples of Synonyms for silent treatment

Noun

Showers could develop around lunchtime and continue into the afternoon, potentially affecting school dismissal in some neighborhoods.

— Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
The Titans announced Elliott’s dismissal on Tuesday but provided no details on the incident that prompted it.

— Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of dismissal

Noun

No other branch takes such delight in going its own way, regularly giving a cold shoulder to titles the rest of the industry adores.

— Nate Jones, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
Executives at firms like Microsoft and Meta have turned a cold shoulder in the last week alone.

— Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 17 June 2026

Definition of cold shoulder

Noun

Perhaps this accident of birth is connected to the subtle rebuff of modern life in Marcon’s films.

— Matthew McLean, Artforum, 22 Sep. 2026
The rebuff contributes to the future civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, in which Rhaenyra battles her half-brother Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) for the seat of power.

— Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 30 July 2026

Definition of rebuff

Noun

The shouts of rejection came in part because there was a plausible scenario under which James would have opened the season at Madison Square Garden in a Knicks uniform.

— CBS News, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Long before launch, the team faced obstacles that nearly thwarted the endeavor — chiefly, two rejections from NASA — before finally securing the green light for the $1 billion project under the New Frontiers Program in 2011.

— Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of rejection

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silents

silent treatment

silent treatments

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Style

“Silent treatment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silent%20treatment. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of silent treatment

noun

Example Sentences

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