silence
noun uk/ˈsaɪ.ləns/ us/ˈsaɪ.ləns/
(QUIET)
B1 [ U ]宁静;寂静
a period without any sound; complete quiet
A loud crash of thunder broke the silence of the night. 一声炸雷打破了夜晚的宁静。
Silence reigned (= there was complete silence) in the church. 教堂里一片寂静。
- More examples
- The conductor waited for dead silence before commencing the performance.
- After he had spoken, a deathly silence/hush fell on the room.
- In the silence of the night, a lone wolf howled.
- A screech of brakes jarred the silence.
- The silence was broken only by the whisper of the leaves in the gentle breeze.
(NO SPEAKING)
B1 [ U ]无声；沉默；缄默
a state of not speaking or writing or making a noise
The soldiers listened in silence as their captain gave the orders. 指挥官下达命令时，士兵们静静地听着。
"Silence! (= Stop talking!)" shouted the teacher. “安静！”老师喊道。
My request for help was met with silence (= I received no answer). 我的求助没有得到答复。
Their mother's angry words reduced the children to silence. 母亲生气的训斥让孩子们都默不作声了。
B2 [ C ]安静，无人说话
a period of time in which there is complete quiet or no speaking
Their conversation was punctuated by uncomfortable silences. 他们的会谈中不时出现令人难堪的沉默。
C2 [ U or C ]拒绝谈论（某事）；拒绝回答问题；不进行交流
a state of refusing to talk about something or answer questions, or a state of not communicating
My request for help was met with silence (= I received no answer). 我的求助没有得到答复。
Her silence about/on what had happened to her surprised everyone. 她对自己的遭遇保持沉默，这令每个人都感到吃惊。
I don't expect to hear from her now, after three years' silence (= three years in which she has not spoken or written to me). 3年杳无音讯后，我如今不再指望能有她的消息。
- More examples
- Cistercian monks and nuns take a vow of silence.
- He has maintained a dignified silence about the rumours.
- A jury should not interpret the silence of a defendant as a sign of guilt.
- No one could think of anything more to say, and the meeting lapsed into silence.
- We listened in silence as the names of the dead were read out.
Idiom
silence is goldenidiom saying 沉默是金。
said to mean it is often better to say nothing
silence
verb [ T ] uk/ˈsaɪ.ləns/ us/ˈsaɪ.ləns/
使安静；使沉默
to make someone or something be quiet
The teacher raised his voice to silence the class (= to make them stop talking). 老师提高嗓门让学生们安静下来。
Her remark about his appearance completely silenced him (= made him unable to answer). 她对他外貌的评价使他哑口无言。
figurative The enemy's guns were silenced (= made to stop firing) in a surprise attack. 突袭让敌人的枪炮停止射击。
阻止（某人）表达意见;压制批评
to prevent someone from expressing their views or from criticizing or opposing someone
Big companies file lawsuits to silence their critics. 大公司通过诉讼来压制批评的声音。
The more they try to silence us, the more we will speak out. 他们越是想让我们沉默，我们就越会公开表达意见。
Al Capone silenced his opponents by killing them. 阿尔‧卡彭杀死了对手，让他们永远地闭嘴。