silence

Word family  noun silence silencer adjective silent verb silence adverb silently

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++si·lence1 /ˈsaɪləns/ ●●● W2 noun  1  no noise 没有响声 [uncountable]QUIET complete absence of sound or noise 无声，寂静 SYN quietsilence of Nothing disturbed the silence of the night. 没有任何声音打破这夜晚的寂静。silence falls/descends (on/upon something) After the explosion, an eerie silence fell upon the scene. 爆炸之后，现场陷入一片可怕的寂静。break/shatter the silence A loud scream shattered the silence. 一声高声尖叫打破了沉寂。2  no talking 不说话 [countable, uncountable] complete quiet because nobody is talking 沉默，缄默 There was a brief silence before anyone answered. 沉默了片刻才有人回答。in silence The four men sat in silence. 这四个人一声不吭地坐着。complete/total/dead silence ‘How long have you been here?’ I asked. There was complete silence. “你在这里多久了？”我问。 回答我的是彻底的沉默。 ‘Silence in court!’ roared the judge. “法庭上请保持肃静！”法官吼道。embarrassed/awkward/stunned etc silence There was an awkward silence between them. 他们之间出现一阵令人尴尬的沉默。 The accused exercised his right to silence (=the legal right to choose to say nothing). 被告行使了沉默权。3  no discussion/answer 没有讨论/回答 [uncountable]TALK2# failure or refusal to discuss something or answer questions about something 保持沉默；拒绝回答silence on The government’s silence on such an important issue seems very strange. 政府在如此重大的问题上保持沉默，显得很奇怪。 Once again the answer was a deafening silence (=a very noticeable refusal to discuss something). 回答又是彻底的沉默。4  no communication 没有交流 [uncountable]CONTACT SB# failure to write a letter to someone, telephone them etc 无音信，失去联系 After two years of silence, he suddenly got in touch with us again. 两年杳无音信之后，他突然又跟我们取得了联系。5. one-minute/two-minute etc silence MXa period of time in which everyone stops talking as a sign of honour and respect towards someone who has died 默哀一分钟/两分钟等n COLLOCATIONS – Meanings 1 & 2adjectivescomplete/total/absolute/utter silenceThey sat in complete silence.The silence in the room was absolute.dead silence (=complete silence)There was a gasp from Peter and then a dead silence.a long silence‘He’s dead.’ There was a long silence.a short/brief silenceAfter a brief silence, Katherine nodded.an awkward/uncomfortable/embarrassed silence‘Fred tells me you like books, ’ Steve said, after an awkward silence.a stunned/shocked silenceThere was a stunned silence at the other end of the phone.stony silence (=unfriendly silence)Harrison stared at him in stony silence.a tense silenceThere was a brief, tense silence.an eerie silence (=one that is strange and rather frightening)An eerie silence descended over the house.an ominous silence (=one that makes you feel that something bad is going to happen)‘How long will she be ill?’ There was a short, ominous silence.a sudden silenceAt the mention of John, a sudden silence fell on the room.verbsthere is (a) silenceThere was silence in the library for several moments.break/shatter the silence (=end the silence)The sound of a car engine broke the silence.disturb the silence (=end the silence by making a sound)Nothing moved, no sound disturbed the silence.silence falls/descends (=a silence begins)A sudden silence fell over the room.lapse into silence (=to stop talking and be quiet)'I don't want any, ' he said, and lapsed into silence again.

Examples from the Corpus

silence• Yearn to be surrounded by marble, priceless manuscripts and silence?• "What did you do during the war?" Rob asked. There was a deathly silence, and everyone looked down at the table.• I resented her silence too, it cut me out.• He lit his cigar and we sat in silence for a long moment.• Enigmatically, Boon sits in silence for a while.• There was a long silence before anyone answered.• The school observed a minute of silence in honor of the students who had died.• After years of silence, we were talking on the phone every few weeks.• The only sound to break the silence of the night was the soft mutter of my engine.• Nothing disturbed the silence of the night.• A voice echoed in the silence.• And then silence again and the whole sequence begins anew.break/shatter the silence• The silence was suddenly broken by a loud scream.• Only the eerie tinkle of leg irons and shouted commands break the silence.• The roar of a furnace engine broke the silence.• The sound of stockinged legs moving across the room finally broke the silence.• A footstep broke the silence and approached to within ten paces of Blackburn and waited.• To go on with the utter silence or to break the silence, pretending nothing had happened.• The only sound to break the silence of the night was the soft mutter of my engine.• The refrigerator hummed its usual little tune to break the silence and Donna drank her coffee.• Her loud wails shattered the silence of the willow grove.right to silence• Despite these dangers, the right to silence has already been removed in all criminal trials in Northern Ireland.• Controversy exploded around him in 1988 when he appeared on Channel 4 News supporting changes to the right to silence.• Here we are concerned in particular with the right to silence and the right of access to a solicitor.deafening silence• But while those hotspots are continuously monitored by diplomats and the media, the Chechen misery prompts nothing but a deafening silence.• Once again the answer was a deafening silence.• All that remained on the barren expanse was a deafening silence.• The most extraordinary feature of the Opposition's response has been the deafening silence of their principal spokesman in relation to the proposals.silence2 ●○○ verb [transitive]  1  TALK2#to make someone stop talking, or stop something making a noise 使安静，使缄默 She held up her hand to silence the children. 她抬手示意孩子们安静下来。2  PREVENTto make someone stop expressing opposition or criticisms – used especially in news reports 使封口，压制 〔反对意见或批评，尤用于新闻报道〕 attempts to silence the rumours 平息谣言的努力 Barnes has failed to silence his critics. 巴恩斯未能封住批评者的嘴巴。→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

silence• Opponents of the regime are quickly silenced.• The Mafia uses threats of physical violence or death to silence any opposition.• Fong said nothing; he had started to object but was silenced by more abuse.• The article silenced Diem, who had immediately surmised its source, but it did not sway Taylor.• Reformists allege that the killings were part of a campaign by state-sponsored death squads to silence dissent.• Partick was livid, but Jane squeezed his arm to silence him.• At last, Switzer had a chance to silence his critics.• Then he became angry, and threatened that he would silence me for ever, if I would not agree.• I opened my mouth to speak but she silenced me with an angry look.• Angry residents are suing the church to silence the bell at night.• Police used violence and threats to silence the party's political opponents.

si·lence1 noun →n COLLOCATIONS1silence2 verbLDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable  

or complete absence of noise sound Corpus

silence

I

si‧lence¹ W2 /ˈsaɪləns/ noun1.  NO NOISE  [uncountable] complete absence of sound or noise
   SYN  quiet
    silence of
    Nothing disturbed the silence of the night.
    silence falls/descends (on/upon something)
    After the explosion, an eerie silence fell upon the scene.
    break/shatter the silence
    A loud scream shattered the silence.
2.  NO TALKING  [uncountable and countable] complete quiet because nobody is talking:
    There was a brief silence before anyone answered.
    in silence
    The four men sat in silence.
    complete/total/dead silence
    ‘How long have you been here?’ I asked. There was complete silence.
    ‘Silence in court!’ roared the judge.
    embarrassed/awkward/stunned etc silence
    There was an awkward silence between them.
    The accused exercised his right to silence (=the legal right to choose to say nothing).
3.  NO DISCUSSION/ANSWER  [uncountable] failure or refusal to discuss something or answer questions about something
    silence on
    The government’s silence on such an important issue seems very strange.
    Once again the answer was a deafening silence (=a very noticeable refusal to discuss something).
4.  NO COMMUNICATION  [uncountable] failure to write a letter to someone, telephone them etc:
    After two years of silence, he suddenly got in touch with us again.
5. one-minute/two-minute etc silence a period of time in which everyone stops talking as a sign of honour and respect towards someone who has died
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meanings 1 & 2)

■ adjectives
   ▪ complete/total/absolute/utter silence They sat in complete silence. | The silence in the room was absolute.
   ▪ dead silence (=complete silence) There was a gasp from Peter and then a dead silence.
   ▪ a long silence ‘He’s dead.’ There was a long silence.
   ▪ a short/brief silence After a brief silence, Katherine nodded.
   ▪ an awkward/uncomfortable/embarrassed silence ‘Fred tells me you like books,’ Steve said, after an awkward silence.
   ▪ a stunned/shocked silence There was a stunned silence at the other end of the phone.
   ▪ stony silence (=unfriendly silence) Harrison stared at him in stony silence.
   ▪ a tense silence There was a brief, tense silence.
   ▪ an eerie silence (=one that is strange and rather frightening) An eerie silence descended over the house.
   ▪ an ominous silence (=one that makes you feel that something bad is going to happen) ‘How long will she be ill?’ There was a short, ominous silence.
   ▪ a sudden silence At the mention of John, a sudden silence fell on the room.
■ verbs
   ▪ there is (a) silence There was silence in the library for several moments.
   ▪ break/shatter the silence (=end the silence) The sound of a car engine broke the silence.
   ▪ disturb the silence (=end the silence by making a sound) Nothing moved, no sound disturbed the silence.
   ▪ silence falls/descends (=a silence begins) A sudden silence fell over the room.
   ▪ lapse into silence (=to stop talking and be quiet) 'I don't want any,' he said, and lapsed into silence again.

II

silence² verb [transitive]1. to make someone stop talking, or stop something making a noise:
    She held up her hand to silence the children.
2. to make someone stop expressing opposition or criticisms – used especially in news reports:
    attempts to silence the rumours
    Barnes has failed to silence his critics.