silent treatment

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 Campaigning for a job is stressful enough without unearned silent treatment from an organization someone’s pining for. Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 24 July 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 This silent treatment was later clarified to be part of McIlroy’s strategy to eliminate distractions. Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 13 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for silent treatment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for silent treatment
Noun
  • Wilcox challenged the dismissal.
    Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The hammer blow was last week's dismissal by the Constitutional Court of Thaksin's daughter and protege Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the sixth prime minister from or backed by the Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or judiciary.
    Panarat Thepgumpanat, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Stories include a brick thrown through a home's window, slurs hurled at a public pool, middle fingers extended out of car windows, and an overall cold shoulder from neighbors.
    Cate Charron, IndyStar, 2 Sep. 2025
  • These rules were administered via cold shoulders and whispers.
    Alessandra Schade, Time, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • There was a unilateral rebuff toward the idea that the industry is experiencing a drummer shortage in general.
    Devon Ivie, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • And then, 11 days later, the movie will appear in theaters nationwide, something that seemed implausible over the years as the rejections kept piling up.
    Tim Casey, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Then an Alabama woman whose pig kidney lasted 130 days before rejection prompted its removal, sending her back to dialysis, helped researchers shift to not-as-sick patients.
    Lauran Neergaard, Fortune, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Silent treatment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silent%20treatment. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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