The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - silence n.

1) quiet, quietness, stillness, soundlessness, noiselessness, calm, calmness, hush, quietude, tranquillity, peace, peacefulness, serenity: The silence was so complete that I could hear my heart beating. 2) speechlessness, muteness, dumbness, reticence, taciturnity, uncommunicativeness: Do not construe his silence as agreement. --v. 3) quiet, mute, hush, still, shush, calm, tranquillize, soothe, Chiefly Brit quieten: The audience was silenced by the start of the overture. 4) mitigate, temper, mollify, take the sting out of, propitiate, pacify, blunt, suppress, repress, restrain, subdue, draw the fangs or teeth of, inhibit, put down, damp, mute, squelch, quash, emasculate, muzzle, muffle, shut off, gag, stifle, smother, deaden (the effect of) : Only a full account of what lay behind these events will silence criticism in the media.