- 1silence somebody/something to make somebody/something stop speaking or making a noise She silenced him with a glare. Our bombs silenced the enemy's guns (= they destroyed them). Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbcompletely, effectively, immediately, … verb + silencetry to, manage to, fail to, … prepositionwith See full entry
- 2silence somebody/something to make somebody stop expressing opinions that are opposed to yours All protest had been silenced. Her recent achievements have silenced her critics. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbcompletely, effectively, immediately, … verb + silencetry to, manage to, fail to, … prepositionwith See full entry Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French, from Latin silentium, from silere ‘be silent’.Extra examples A shot to the head silenced him forever. Criticism has now been effectively silenced. Even these improvements to the service failed to silence a grumbling chorus of complaints. Her scream was abruptly silenced. Our bombs silenced the enemy’s guns.
silence
verbBrE BrE//ˈsaɪləns//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsaɪləns//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they silence BrE BrE//ˈsaɪləns//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsaɪləns//
he / she / it silences BrE BrE//ˈsaɪlənsɪz//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsaɪlənsɪz//
past simple silenced BrE BrE//ˈsaɪlənst//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsaɪlənst//
past participle silenced BrE BrE//ˈsaɪlənst//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsaɪlənst//
-ing form silencing BrE BrE//ˈsaɪlənsɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsaɪlənsɪŋ//
Check pronunciation: silence
