silencing

verb

present participle of silence
1
as in shushing
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in suppressing
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 silencing Rebecca Solnit on the Odyssey and the Western literary tradition of silencing women. — Literary Hub, 23 July 2026 However, defaulting to groupthink does a disservice to everyone by silencing outlier good ideas. — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 Amusing, yes, but this is also an act of silencing, maybe even passive-aggressive violence. — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026 Across the globe, populist leaders and fundamentalist factions attempt to consolidate power by dividing populations and silencing dissent. — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 July 2026 The former staffers’ attorneys tried to force her to testify in this week’s trial against Basabe, and plaintiffs have pointed to her noncooperation as evidence of the alleged House cover-up of Basabe’s actions and silencing of potential witnesses. — Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 17 July 2026 Meanwhile, Roche has abandoned two Huntington’s gene-silencing drugs after disappointing data, and drugmakers have stepped in to promote Medicare’s new obesity drug discount program. — Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 10 July 2026 Wainua's failure means that Alnylam's drug Amvuttra will be the only silencer, giving it a monopoly in the $15 billion to $20 billion market for ATTR cardiomyopathy silencing drugs, Oppenheimer analyst Kostas Biliouris wrote in a note Thursday. — Elsa Ohlen,angelica Peebles, CNBC, 9 July 2026 England weathered the storm, silencing the sea of green with a ruthless finishing display to escape with a dramatic 3-2 victory. — Alejandro Avila, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silencing
  1. shushing
  2. suppressing
  3. quieting
  4. quelling
  5. muting
  6. subduing
  7. hushing
  8. repressing
Verb
  • Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
  • Wine country with kids in tow doesn’t have to mean a stressful afternoon of shushing and screen time.
    — Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026
Definition of shushing
Verb
  • What is left of a sprawling state apparatus is capable of little more than paying poverty wages to its employees, running hospitals with dwindling supplies, and suppressing any popular challenge to the heirs of Chavez.
    — Rafael Osío Cabrices, Time, 20 July 2026
  • The ground robots established a support-by-fire position, suppressing the Russian defenders and forcing them to remain under cover.
    — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of suppressing
Verb
  • However, the Rams’ acquisition of Garrett puts a team that was firmly a Super Bowl favorite back in the conversation for a 2026 Super Bowl run, quieting the doubters who rose after the 2026 NFL Draft.
    — Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
  • The company says the device supports sleep by lowering cortisol within minutes, slowing the heart, quieting racing thoughts and shifting users into parasympathetic mode.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
Definition of quieting
Verb
  • Other ubiquitous Chinese deities, such as the regal Jade Emperor, the faithful warrior Guan Yu, the wondrous savior Mazu, and the demon-quelling Zhong Kui, fill both the popular imagination and the stuff of Daoist ritual.
    — Michael Naparstek, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
  • The very system itself - schooling and parenting - now operates on quelling agency.
    — Mimosa Jones Tunney, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
Definition of quelling
Verb
  • During the third act, in a cunning effect, when anyone picks up a phone, the screen’s contents are displayed on a wall as the lights fade, muting the friends onstage.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
  • But the field has struggled to figure out a means of delivering RNA-muting molecules into organs and tissues beyond the liver, which has limited their reach.
    — Elaine Chen, STAT, 9 June 2026
Definition of muting
Verb
  • Rome — The death of a Moroccan man in police custody has sparked protests – some violent – in the northern city of Bologna after video of the incident showing officers forcefully subduing the man circulated online.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
  • Viewers have already seen glimpses of the premiere, which involves Aang and Katara subduing a sea serpent while guiding refugees across a treacherous path.
    — Entertainment Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
Definition of subduing
Verb
  • If you’re used to traditional decluttering strategies that focus on sorting and purging, house hushing might feel strange.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026
  • There are a lot of ways to declutter out there—the pile method and the discernment method are two of them, and now, everyone’s hushing their house.
    — Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025
Definition of hushing
Verb
  • When elites are strong, dictators need to accommodate them, often by repressing outsiders to shield insiders from potential challenges.
    — José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026
  • Normally, this modifier gene suppresses the creation of a second kind of hemoglobin, typically made only during fetal development; repressing the gene prompts cells to start making the fetal form of hemoglobin again, which acts as a backup.
    — Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of repressing

Browse Nearby Words

silences
silencing
silent
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Cite this Entry

“Silencing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silencing. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of silencing for Spanish Speakers

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