Silent Fell ˈsaɪlənt Sound Extra Examples Adjective Traffic

• at last the traffic fell silent.
• the streets were silent and deserted.
• to remain/stay/keep silent
• as the curtain rose, the audience fell silent.

silent

1. where there is little or no sound; making little or no sound
• SYNONYM quiet
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/quiet_2
• At last the traffic fell silent.
• The streets were silent and deserted.

Extra Examples

• The new bus is virtually silent.
• As darkness began to fall, the cannon fell silent.
2. not speaking
• to remain/stay/keep silent
• As the curtain rose, the audience fell silent.
• He gave me the silent treatment (= did not speak to me because he was angry).
• Half the room went silent and turned to see what was happening.
• They huddled together in silent groups.
• The mayor was silent for a moment.

Extra Examples

• Len remained obstinately silent.
• She sat silent throughout the meal.
• I could not keep silent any longer.
• The room grew silent as the men entered.
• We were asked to remain silent for two minutes.
3. not expressed with words or sound
• a silent prayer/protest
• They nodded in silent agreement.
4. written but not pronounced
• The ‘b’ in ‘lamb’ is silent.
5. with pictures but no sound
• a silent film/movie
• stars of the silent screen
6. not talking very much
• SYNONYM quiet
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/quiet_2
• He's the strong silent type.
7. not giving information about something; refusing to speak about something
• The report is strangely silent on this issue.
• the right to remain silent (= the legal right not to say anything when you are arrested)

Extra Examples

• They had kept remarkably silent about their intentions.
• This is a subject about which the official documents are ominously silent.

Word Origin

• late 15th cent. (in the sense ‘not speaking’): from Latin silent- ‘being silent’, from the verb silere.