Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of silence

16 similar words · 6 opposite words

Another word for silence is mute. Other synonyms of silence are be quiet, hush, shush, shut up and whist.

Synonyms and similar words for silence

verbTo make (someone or something) silent.

  • muteTo silence, to make quiet.

interjectionBe silent.

  • be quietRemain silent. Sometimes used as a more polite synonym of shut up.
  • hush
  • shush
  • shut upStop talking (usually in the form of making annoying, irrelevant, or false comments, during a period of peace and...
  • whistOnomatopoeia for slicing.

nounMore synonyms

  • inaudibilityThe property of being inaudible.
  • quietnessAbsence of sound; silence or hush.
  • black noiseTechnical silence; noise that has a frequency spectrum of predominantly zero power level over all frequencies except...
  • crickets US, humorousUsed alone or in metaphorically descriptive phrases: absolute silence where meaningful sound is expected; lack of...
  • noiselessnessThe quality or state of being noiseless; quiet or hush; silence.
  • quiet
  • roo UK, dialectal
  • stillnessHabitual silence or quiet; taciturnity.
  • soundlessnessThe state or condition of being soundless.
  • whistness obsoleteSilence.

Opposite of silence

nounMore antonyms

  • audibilityThe quality of being heard or understood; the degree to which a thing is audible.
  • loudnessThe perceptual strength or amplitude of sound pressure, measured in sones or phons.
  • vocality
  • sound
  • speech
  • talk

Meaning of silence

  1. noun The absence of any sound.
  2. noun The act of refraining from speaking.
  3. noun Refraining from speaking, for purposes of prayer or meditation; especially, a form of worship practiced by the Society of Friends (Quakers) during meetings.

Full definition of silence

silence in other languages

Questions about synonyms of silence

What is another word for silence?
Silence has 16 synonyms on Word.ws, such as mute, be quiet, hush, shush, shut up, whist, inaudibility and quietness.
What is the opposite of silence?
The opposite of silence is loudness. Other antonyms of silence are talk, sound, audibility, vocality and speech.
What does silence mean?
Silence means the absence of any sound.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: silence (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of silence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/silence. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.