How to Use silent in a Sentence

silent

1 of 2 adjective
Definition of silentnext
Synonyms for silentnext
  • He said he would call me, but the phone was silent all day.
  • He was the strong, silent type.
  • The crowd fell silent as the horrible news was read aloud.
  • My father was a very silent man.
  • She was silent for a few minutes as she thought about how to answer him.
  • A long, silent pause followed her reply.
  • Those days in Paris [laughs] the stores were all silent.
    — Mark Holgate, Vogue, 8 Dec. 2023
  • At the time of the 1989 student movement, Wang was silent about the protests.
    — Ian Johnson, Foreign Affairs, 19 Dec. 2023
  • This idea that girls should be silent and do as they are told.
    — Safiya Sinclair and Nicole Dennis-Benn, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2023
  • The Bang Bang Shrimp have gone silent in downtown Boise.
    — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 16 Feb. 2024
  • The black ink on his white towel served as a silent tribute.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023
  • The phone went silent, and Bartell's friend was able to find her by tracking the phone, police said.
    — CBS News, 27 Apr. 2023
  • In a way, playing this game Week 1 is a silent blessing.
    — Zach Osterman, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Sep. 2023
  • But teaching often works off of the idea of silent labor.
    — Chloe Berger, Fortune, 17 Dec. 2023
  • By staying silent, the city may keep its distance from the agony of the shooting, and the fear and loss churned up by its wake.
    — Will Lanzoni, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2023
  • The crowd grew silent; everyone held hands, then raised them.
    — Anumita Kaur, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Sep. 2023
  • But the show, a platform to tens of millions of people across the world, was silent on both issues.
    — Gene Park, Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2023
  • Chitwood said Donley had been able to scare people over the years to keep silent.
    — Jay Croft, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Some films are almost silent, but the visuals speak to us.
    — Ben Croll, Variety, 3 Dec. 2023
  • But when the music died down, a silent march began toward the graveyard.
    — Clarence Williams, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023
  • The 20-year-old was talking to a friend on the phone when the line went silent, investigators said.
    — Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Birds fell silent and outdoor lights flickered on, tricked by the midday darkness and the sudden chill in the air.
    — Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 8 Apr. 2024
  • The disputed Coogan account stretches back to the age of silent acting.
    — Chloe Berger, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
  • The two occupied traps, draped with towels, were silent.
    — Jonathan Franzen, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023
  • The girls’ group chat, which had been a flurry of activity, went silent.
    — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2024
  • Dabbing the power deal in an EV should bring about a silent forward motion.
    — WIRED, 31 July 2023
  • But in the strange metal, current slipped quietly through the nanowire, an effect akin to the nearly silent hiss of mist.
    — Quanta Magazine, 28 Nov. 2023
  • Holding hands on silent cab rides home, exhausted from great food and red wine.
    — Melody Chiu, Peoplemag, 4 Sep. 2023
  • During this time, the temperature will drop, and birds will go silent.
    — Caitlin Babcock, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Apr. 2024
  • Angela’s mother—still stony-faced, silent—ignores this, so Angela is the one to put her hand on his back.
    — Clare Sestanovich, The New Yorker, 6 Nov. 2023
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silent

2 of 2 noun
  • The near-silent speedster soared to over 35 knots (40 mph) during testing.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 4 Mar. 2022
  • The car ride back to Connie’s after service was tomb-silent.
    — J. M. Holmes, The New Yorker, 10 May 2021
  • Turn it in either direction to nudge the volume up or down, even all the way down to silent.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2021
  • Feud begins in 1962 when the imperious Joan, a star since the silents, can no longer find work.
    — Willa Paskin, Slate Magazine, 2 Mar. 2017
  • Give yourself permission to check out from life and leave your phone on silent.
    — Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 8 Mar. 2022
  • Do Kwon, went radio silent as investors licked their wounds.
    — Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 27 May 2022
  • The storied high school’s still-and-silent hallways now gleam in the morning mid-summer sun under a fresh coat of wax.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 15 Aug. 2021
  • With two kids in tow and one on the way, the challenge of staying silent is amplified (pun intended).
    — Joyce Bautista Ferrari, Marie Claire, 1 Oct. 2019
  • Instead the Seahawks went radio silent and didn’t sign one player on Day 1.
    — oregonlive, 16 Mar. 2021
  • The Texas law banning most abortions in the state took effect Wednesday, with the Supreme Court silent on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold.
    — Anthony Man, sun-sentinel.com, 1 Sep. 2021
  • About five miles from the headquarters along U.S. 82, a lone police car sat on the barren highway silent near the main crash site, blue light flashing.
    — Ajc Homepage, ajc, 11 July 2017
  • The trail was almost entirely devoid of people, the forest silent save the roaring of water.
    — oregonlive, 16 Mar. 2022
  • If the mere mention of crushes renders your child silent, have the conversation anyway.
    — Elissa Strauss, CNN, 26 Mar. 2022
  • The flu’s lethality and speed seemed to shock the culture silent, forcing people indoors with few ways to communicate.
    — Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2021
  • There will be no external lighting on the property with the solar farm quiet during the day and silent at night, according to the SunVest slideshow.
    — Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 Apr. 2022
  • On the day of the walkout, hundreds of Manual students filed out of school, remaining silent for nearly 20 minutes under the gaze of TV cameras.
    — Mandy McLaren, The Courier-Journal, 19 Mar. 2018
  • There were silent and live auctions, a wine tasting, dinner, an award presentation and dancing.
    — Carol Kovach, cleveland.com, 29 Apr. 2018
  • No longer is it considered acceptable for leaders to stand on the sidelines of social issues; staying silent is not an option.
    — Forbes, 28 Sep. 2021
  • Born into a society family at the height of the Victorian age, she was expected to be polite, subservient and silent.
    — Jacqueline Cutler, Star Tribune, 3 May 2021
  • Many Republican candidates in competitive races want Trump to go radio silent between now and the midterms.
    — Charlie Dent, CNN, 16 Sep. 2022
  • After Trump took office in 2017, an online petition was launched to push Disney to keep its animatronic Trump silent, but the effort failed.
    — Fox News, 20 July 2021
  • However, Drake went radio-silent for another two months.
    — Jordan Rose, Variety, 2 Sep. 2021
  • While some people prefer a near-silent switch, other people love the clicky sound of different switch styles and enthusiasts are forever in pursuit of that perfect sound.
    — Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 13 June 2022
  • And in the midst of Weinstein’s wave of accusers coming forward last year, the mogul was radio silent until actress Lupita Nyong’o shared her own account of his alleged misconduct towards her.
    — Allison McGevna, Glamour, 5 Oct. 2018
  • The raccoon, an escapee from the Zoological Society, chewed through a wire, leaving Hendrix’s guitar silent.
    — Jake Goldwasser, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2022
  • Whether its the use of social media including Alyssa Milano's #MeToo campaign, an interview setting or a premiere event to promote their latest project staying silent has not been an option.
    — Brian Porreca, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Oct. 2017
  • Barca are remaining silent on the subject of Griezmann's future but it is expected that the Frenchman will complete a move to the Nou Camp this summer, leaving his current employers in desperate need of goals.
    — SI.com, 26 May 2018
  • Both Dunphy and McKie have been unavailable for comment and likely will continue remaining silent until a deal is finalized.
    — Marc Narducci, Philly.com, 31 Mar. 2018
  • Especially since not much has changed — these days, county school boards are routinely harangued about critical race theory thanks to the same white fragility that fueled a backlash against Kaepernick’s silent, kneeling protests back in 2016.
    — Joshua Alston, Variety, 28 Oct. 2021
  • But those who are simply hoping that staying silent is an effective, inoffensive solution will likely be disappointed in the long run.
    — Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'silent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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