silent treatment

Definition of silent treatmentnext
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
  • The latest rebuff of state overreach was the dismissal last week of the highly questionable felony case against respected Waukegan City Clerk Janet Kilkelly brought by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
    Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
  • The result is a drama of surprising universality, in which a well-to-do couple becomes the target of unjust dismissals and persecution for political wrongthink against the Turkish regime.
    Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 13 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The base lurks awkwardly on a windblown corner, all cold shoulders and sharp elbows, resenting its neighbors: a public-housing project, a softball field, the FDR Drive, and the bridge footings.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 28 Jan. 2026
  • But the internet seems to have already turned a cold shoulder towards the product.
    Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The latest rebuff of state overreach was the dismissal last week of the highly questionable felony case against respected Waukegan City Clerk Janet Kilkelly brought by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
    Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Braced by that humiliating rebuff, the Service wasted no time in getting serious and rallying around reform.
    Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 8 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • This proved to be the initial step on a path that eventually led to my rejection of the faith in which I’d been raised.
    Christopher Beha, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
  • That rejection of redemption is precisely what makes these stories indispensable now.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Silent treatment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silent%20treatment. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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