silent majorities

Noun

silent majority (plural silent majorities)

1. (US) The largest portion of a demographic group or of the population of a political jurisdiction, which is considered to possess political and social views that are not openly declared, but that can nevertheless significantly affect voting patterns and social behavior.
   • Nixon took the field against his critics in his Nov. 3 plea to "the silent majority'" for backing of his Viet Nam policy.1969 November 21, “Nation: The Politics of Polarization”, in Time

   Antonyms:

   vocal minority

2. (archaic, euphemistic) Those who are dead.
   • Each man in the long line knows that if an advance is made some of them will not see the sun set, and he cannot shake off the feeling that perhaps his turn has come to join the silent majority.1884 October, George F. Williams, “Lights and Shadows of Army Life”, in The Century Magazine, volume 28, number 6, page 819