(~s, silencing, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If there is ~, nobody is speaking.
They stood in ~...
He never lets those long ~s develop during dinner...
Then he bellowed ‘Silence!’
N-VAR: oft in/of N
2.
The ~ of a place is the extreme quietness there.
She breathed deeply, savouring the ~.
N-UNCOUNT: oft the N of n
3.
Someone’s ~ about something is their failure or refusal to speak to other people about it.
The district court ruled that Popper’s ~ in court today should be entered as a plea of not guilty.
N-UNCOUNT: oft poss N
•
If someone breaks their ~ about something, they talk about something that they have not talked about before or for a long time.
Gary decided to break his ~ about his son’s suffering in the hope of helping other families.
PHRASE: V inflects
4.
To ~ someone or something means to stop them speaking or making a noise.
A ringing phone ~d her...
VERB: V n
5.
If someone ~s you, they stop you expressing opinions that they do not agree with.
Like other tyrants, he tried to ~ anyone who spoke out against him.
VERB: V n