1
as in stillness
incapacity for or restraint from speaking
the violinist expects complete silence from the audience during his concerts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in quiet
the near or complete absence of sound
the silence of the garden was refreshing after the din of the party inside
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in obscurity
the quality or state of being mostly or completely unknown
the book eventually vanished into the silence that awaits best sellers whose time has past
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to quiet
to stop the noise or speech of
the instructor quickly silenced anyone who tried to interrupt we need to have a repairman come and silence that door alarm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to suppress
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
brutally silenced all political dissent in the country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of silence
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
Throughout Friday, a growing chorus of lawmakers had called on the parties to deescalate their feud and come to an amicable solution, contrasting with the relative silence from Anthropic and the Pentagon in the hours before the deadline.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
Debbie Deland, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Feb. 2026
After deliberating for nearly three days, the jury found Wednesday that the city was not liable for the death of Houston Tipping, and that his family had failed to prove he was killed in an effort to silence him.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for silence
Noun
After his remarks, board members quickly exited the room in silence.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2026
Throughout Friday, a growing chorus of lawmakers had called on the parties to deescalate their feud and come to an amicable solution, contrasting with the relative silence from Anthropic and the Pentagon in the hours before the deadline.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
Verb
Families who survived were silenced.
—Debbie Deland, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Feb. 2026
After deliberating for nearly three days, the jury found Wednesday that the city was not liable for the death of Houston Tipping, and that his family had failed to prove he was killed in an effort to silence him.
—Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for silence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silence
Noun
-
But Ravinna’s journey reveals that stillness can be strategy.—
Connie Etemadi,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The temperature also drops, wild animals transition to their nocturnal routines and stillness fills the air.—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The books were gone, and the studious quiet that once filled the space had turned into a heavy silence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
-
When the crashing stopped, an eerie quiet fell over the highway.—
Nichole Manna,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Early was one of Boston’s biggest minor league success stories last season, rising from relative obscurity to earn a late-season call-up while helping pitch the club into the playoffs for the first time since 2021.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Once again, shared appreciation of obscurity is the great unifier.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Some shushed the crowds, urging them to be silent and reverent.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Levy sat on the floor, watching like a proud father and shushing whisperers.—
Jane Bua,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
On Tuesday, Ukraine's air force said Russia had launched 133 drones and one ballistic missile into the country overnight, of which 111 drones were shot down or suppressed.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Yas calls Harper to feed her the bogus story that Lisa Dearn suppressed a memo that would have endangered Tender’s application with the banking regulator.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Both brothers were intellectually precocious, but Scott could be shy to the point of speechlessness.—
Eren Orbey,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There, many of Cale’s pet fascinations, like the precariousness of memory and the lacuna between yourself and other people, opened themselves up with a lovely quietness.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Not with the quietness of a disease already in her brain; not drugged and almost constantly sleeping.—
Molly Aitken,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
All of this culminates in a stunning sequence set in a rundown hospital, where the majority of the ensemble returns, and is forced into further moral dilemmas under the threat of oblivion, in a race-against-the-clock finale shot in enrapturing long takes.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
21 Feb. 2026
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The phrase, part of one of Banks’s most famous ‘Ty-rade’s against contestant Tiffany Richardson in Cycle 4, has been memed into oblivion.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Silence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silence. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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