I.
noun
1 quietness
ADJECTIVE
▪ lengthy , long , prolonged
▪ brief , momentary , a moment's , short
▪
There was a moment's ~ before she replied.
▪ deep , hushed
▪ awed
▪
We sat and watched in awed ~ as she performed.
▪ absolute , complete , dead , deadly , deathly , total , utter
▪
We sat in complete ~, save for the ticking of the clock.
▪
A deathly ~ hung over the town.
▪ relative
▪
The rest of the trip passed in relative ~.
▪ shocked , stunned
▪
Her comments were met with a stunned ~.
▪ awkward , embarrassed , embarrassing , strained , uncomfortable , uneasy
▪
An awkward ~ followed.
▪ heavy , ominous , oppressive , tense
▪ brooding , thoughtful
▪
She fell into long, brooding ~s.
▪ stony , sullen
▪ eerie , unnerving
▪ companionable
▪
They walked in companionable ~.
▪ expectant , pregnant
▪ sudden
▪ radio
▪
The soldier had broken radio ~ to contact his aircraft.
… OF SILENCE
▪ moment
VERB + SILENCE
▪ maintain
▪
She maintained a stony ~.
▪ break , interrupt , penetrate , pierce , punctuate , shatter
▪
Lewis finally broke the long ~ between them.
▪
Celeste's voice penetrated the ~.
▪
a ~ punctuated only by the occasional sniff from the children
▪ lapse into , relapse into , retreat into , subside into , trail off into (all used only about people)
▪
He lapsed into a sullen ~.
▪ stun sb into
▪
The boys were stunned into ~ by this news.
▪ be met with
▪
Her question was met with an uneasy ~.
▪ observe (= as a sign of respect for the dead, etc.)
▪
A minute's ~ for the victims will be observed.
▪ fill
▪
She filled the ~ with music.
SILENCE + VERB
▪ come over sth , descend , fall , fall over sth , settle , settle over sth
▪
A sudden ~ fell over the room.
▪ hang , prevail , reign
▪
Silence reigned.
▪ linger
▪
A heavy ~ lingered in the air.
▪ envelop sth , fill sth
▪
Silence filled the room.
▪ ensue , follow
▪ deepen , grow , lengthen , spread , stretch
▪
He thought for a moment, the ~ lengthening.
▪ greet sth
▪
A stunned ~ greeted her announcement.
PREPOSITION
▪ in (the) ~
▪
They ate their breakfast in ~.
PHRASES
▪ two minutes' ~ , three minutes' ~ ( esp. BrE )
▪
They observed two minutes' ~ to remember the war dead.
▪
Countries throughout Europe held a three minutes' ~.
2 not saying anything about sth
ADJECTIVE
▪ deafening
▪
The government's only response has been a deafening ~.
▪ dignified ( esp. BrE )
▪ deliberate
VERB + SILENCE
▪ keep , maintain
▪
He has so far kept a dignified ~ on the subject.
▪ take as
▪
I took her ~ as a no.
SILENCE + VERB
▪ surround
▪
a debate to break the ~ surrounding domestic violence
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ from
▪
There seems to have been a deliberate ~ from the newspapers.
PHRASES
▪ a conspiracy of ~ , a wall of ~
▪
There is a conspiracy of ~ about what is happening (= nobody is willing to talk about it) .
▪ a vow of ~
▪
She has broken her vow of ~ on the issue.
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ completely
▪ effectively
▪
Criticism has now been effectively ~d.
▪ immediately , quickly
▪ abruptly , instantly
▪
Her scream was abruptly ~d.
▪ momentarily , temporarily
▪ forever
▪
A shot to the head ~d him forever.
VERB + SILENCE
▪ try to
▪ manage to
▪ fail to
▪
Even these improvements to the service failed to ~ a grumbling chorus of complaints.
PREPOSITION
▪ with
▪
She ~d him with a glare.
Silence is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ critic , ↑ criticism , ↑ dissent , ↑ gun , ↑ rumour , ↑ sceptic , ↑ voice