silence

1 incapacity for or restraint from speaking the violinist expects complete silence from the audience during his concerts Synonyms of silence dumbness, muteness, speechlessness, stillness Words Related to silence inarticulacy, inarticulateness, voicelessness; reserve, reticence, reticency, taciturnity Near Antonyms of silence communication, speaking, talking; eloquence, fluency, volubility; chattiness, garrulousness, loquaciousness, loquacity, talkativeness, talkiness; verboseness, verbosity, windiness, wordiness

2 the near or complete absence of sound the silence of the garden was refreshing after the din of the party inside Synonyms of silence hush, quiet, quietness, quietude, still, stillness Words Related to silence calm, lull, peace, peacefulness, tranquillity (or tranquility) Near Antonyms of silence babel, blare, bluster, cacophony, chatter, clamor, clangor, din, hubbub, racket, rattle, roar, tumult, uproar Antonyms of silence noise, sound, unquietness

3 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 of silence anonymity, facelessness, namelessness, nowhere, nowheresville, obscurityWords Related to silence oblivion; inconspicuousness, invisibility, invisibleness; insignificance; unpopularityNear Antonyms of silence character, mark, name, note, rep [slang], report, reputation, repute; favor, popularity; importance, significance; distinction, eminence, glory, greatness, honor, illustriousness, note, preeminence, prominence; megastardom, superstardom; cachet, kudos, position, prestige, rank, standing, stature; acclaim, acknowledgment (or acknowledgement), praise, recognition; adoration, idolizationAntonyms of silence celebrity, fame, notoriety, renown

1 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 of silence dumb, extinguish, hush, mute, quell, quiet, quieten [chiefly British], settle, shush, shut up, squelch, still Near Antonyms of silence agitate, stir

2 to put a stop to (something) by the use of force brutally silenced all political dissent in the country Synonyms of silence clamp down (on), crack down (on), crush, put down, quash, repress, quell, slap down, snuff (out), squash, squelch, subdue, suppressWords Related to silence douse (also dowse), extinguish, put out, quench; smother, stifle, strangle, throttle; annihilate, decimate, demolish, desolate, destroy, devastate, nuke, rub out, ruin, smash, waste, wreck; exterminate, obliterate, wipe out; conquer, dominate, overcome, overpower, overwhelm, subdue, subjugate, vanquishNear Antonyms of silence abet, aid, assist, back, help, prop up, support; foment, incite, instigate, provoke, stir, whip (up); advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote