silence
noun
verb
ˈsaɪləns
noun
1
NO NOISE
没有响声
complete
absence
of
sound
or
noise
无声，寂静;
U
[+
of
]
Nothing
disturbed
the
silence
of
the
night.
没有任何声音打破这夜晚的寂静。
silence
falls/descends
(on/upon
sth)
After
the
explosion,
an
eerie
silence
fell
upon
the
scene.
爆炸之后，现场陷入一片可怕的寂静。
break/shatter
the
silence
A
loud
scream
shattered
the
silence.
一声高声尖叫打破了沉寂。
2
NO TALKING
不说话
complete
quiet
because
nobody
is
talking
沉默，缄默
C,U
There
was
a
brief
silence
before
anyone
answered.
沉默了片刻才有人回答。
in
silence
The
four
men
sat
in
silence.
这四个人一声不吭地坐着。
complete/total/dead
silence
‘How
long
have
you
been
here?’
I
asked.
There
was
complete
silence.
“你在这里多久了？”我问。彻底的沉默。
‘Silence
in
court!’
roared
the
judge.
“法庭上保持肃静！”法官吼道。
embarrassed/awkward/stunned
etc
silence
There
was
an
awkward
silence
between
them.
他们之间出现了一阵令人尴尬的沉默。
The
accused
exercised
his
right
to
silence
(=the
legal
right
to
choose
to
say
nothing)
.
被告行使了沉默权。
3
NO DISCUSSION/ANSWER
没有讨论/回答
failure
or
refusal
to
discuss
something
or
answer
questions
about
something
保持沉默，拒绝回答
U
[+
on
]
The
government’s
silence
on
such
an
important
issue
seems
very
strange.
政府在如此重大的问题上保持沉默显得很奇怪。
Once
again
the
answer
was
a
deafening
silence
(=a
very
noticeable
refusal
to
discuss
something)
.
又一次用彻底的沉默来回答。
4
NO COMMUNICATION
没有交流
failure
to
write
a
letter
to
someone,
telephone
them
etc
无音信，失去联系
U
After
two
years
of
silence
he
suddenly
got
in
touch
with
us
again.
两年杳无音信之后，他突然又跟我们取得了联系。
5
one-minute/two-minute etc silence
a
period
of
time
in
which
everyone
stops
talking
as
a
sign
of
honour
and
respect
towards
someone
who
has
died
默哀一分钟/两分钟等
verb
6
to
make
someone
stop
talking,
or
stop
something
making
a
noise
使安静，使缄默
She
held
up
her
hand
to
silence
the
children.
她抬手示意孩子们安静下来。
7
to
make
someone
stop
expressing
opposition
or
criticisms
–
used
especially
in
news
reports
使封口，压制〔反对意见或批评，尤用于新闻报道〕
attempts
to
silence
the
rumours
平息传闻的努力
Barnes
has
failed
to
silence
his
critics.
巴恩斯未能封住批评者的口。