Silence is the complete or near-complete absence of sound. It can also mean not speaking or refusing to talk about something.
“Silence” comes from Old French “silence,” from Latin “silentium,” meaning quiet or being still. The Latin root “silere” means to be silent or still. The word has long carried both the physical and social sense of not making noise.
Silence is not just ‘no sound’—it’s often a powerful social act, like keeping silence for respect or using silence to avoid a topic. That’s why we talk about ‘breaking the silence’ as if it were a solid object. English treats quiet as something you can give, keep, or shatter.
In many cultures, 'silence' has been idealized as a feminine virtue and used to justify excluding women and marginalized genders from public, academic, and political speech. Phrases like "silencing" and "being silenced" are central in feminist critiques of how women's voices have been suppressed historically.
Be explicit about who is being silenced and by what structures, rather than implying passivity or blame. Avoid romanticizing the 'silence' of groups who were in fact excluded or censored.
["marginalization","exclusion","censorship","voice suppression"]
When discussing historical 'silence' of women or other groups, note that many did speak and write but were ignored, unpublished, or later erased; recovering their work is part of correcting the record.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.