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
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 silence
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2026
Shorter stays don’t give the nervous system enough time to settle out of reactive scrolling patterns, which is why properties like Adhara Retreat in Tuscany build their programs around an eight-day arc and the Hridaya retreat in Portugal commits guests to five days, three of them in full silence.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2026
Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 14 May 2026
The hours and hours of screams, only silenced when victims were finally murdered.
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for silence
Noun
In many scenes where a conventional filmmaker would have layered in the sound of footsteps or ambient movement, Abraham chose silence, letting the visual image generate its own interior noise in the viewer’s mind.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 16 May 2026
Shorter stays don’t give the nervous system enough time to settle out of reactive scrolling patterns, which is why properties like Adhara Retreat in Tuscany build their programs around an eight-day arc and the Hridaya retreat in Portugal commits guests to five days, three of them in full silence.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 16 May 2026
Verb
In the Middlesex League, Sankaran Menon tallied four kills, two block assists, and one ace as Lexington silenced Burlington 3-0 for a 15th straight win.
—Tyler McManus, Boston Herald, 14 May 2026
The hours and hours of screams, only silenced when victims were finally murdered.
—Bobby Zirkin, Baltimore Sun, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for silence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silence
Noun
-
Something about seeing the gentle flow of an expansive body of water immediately calms the nerves, sending your mind into a state of sweet stillness.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
16 May 2026
-
There was a surreal sense of stillness, as if the world had slowed around me.—
Carinne Geil Botta,
Travel + Leisure,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Rooms The rooms at Senda are designed to blend with the lush backdrop and immerse guests in the quiet of the jungle.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 May 2026
-
Against this backdrop, the current quiet does not signal restraint.—
Will Walters,
STAT,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Escape from Venice Bembo’s obscurity was partly of her own making.—
Claire Fontijn,
The Conversation,
18 May 2026
-
On screen, that depth is anchored by Williams and Storrie, actors plucked from restaurant-server obscurity.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The Giants offense got shushed Wednesday night by Shohei Ohtani, and their hitters went down almost as quietly against right-hander Emmet Sheehan.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
My mother would shush him and change the subject.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Dramatic currents, once suppressed, here bloom unashamed.—
Russell Platt,
New Yorker,
20 May 2026
-
Keith arrests our thinking, and cons us into suppressing our critical faculties with the same kind of internalized surveillance that philosopher Michel Foucault broke down to describe a prison’s use of the panopticon in Discipline and Punish.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Both men regularly bash Trump during their monologues, but the president’s tirade against the Pope left them puzzled to the point of near-speechlessness.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Both brothers were intellectually precocious, but Scott could be shy to the point of speechlessness.—
Eren Orbey,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
There’s a lot of quiet in the country, and there’s a lot of quietness in my children.—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The work ethic is there, but so are the routines, the quirks, the quietness, the edge.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And every one squandered leaves a mark, takes its toll, ages you just a bit — and takes you one year closer to hockey oblivion.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
These Knicks don’t sit around and watch Jalen Brunson pound the ball into oblivion.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Silence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silence. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
