What does silence in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word silence in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use silence in French.

The word silence in French means silence, Silence!, silence, silence, rest, buy 's silence, break the silence, silently, remain silent, keep quiet, keep quiet about , keep silent about , stay silent about, Speech is silver, silence is golden, a code of silence, a conspiracy of silence, a minute of silence, stay silent, keep silent, observe a minute's silence, keep quiet, reduce to silence, reduce to silence, silence, the quiet game, withdraw into silence, deathly silence, deathly hush, awkward silence, icy silence, heavy silence, eloquent silence, radio silence, radio silence, Lights... Camera... Action!, break your silence, break your silence. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word silence

silence

nom masculin (calme)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le silence de la forêt était inquiétant.
There was an eery silence throughout the forest.

Silence!

interjection (ordre de se taire)

(interjection: Exclamation--for example, "Oh no!" "Wow!")
« Silence ! » cria le professeur énervé.
'Silence!' shouted the angry teacher.

silence

nom masculin (mutisme)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le silence des témoins rendait le travail de la police plus difficile.
The silence on the part of the witnesses made the police's work harder.

silence

nom masculin (secret)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le gouvernement maintient le silence sur cette affaire.
The government is remaining silent on this matter.

rest

nom masculin (Musique : temps sans son) (Music)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Il est important de bien respecter les silences de ce morceau.
It is important to observe the rests in this piece.

buy 's silence

(payer [qqn] pour qu'il se taise) (bribery)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

break the silence

locution verbale (rompre le silence) (figurative)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

silently

locution adverbiale (sans parler)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")

remain silent, keep quiet

locution verbale (se taire)

Le suspect a été interrogé par la police mais celui-ci a préféré garder le silence.

keep quiet about , keep silent about , stay silent about

(se taire à propos de [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
L'accusé a décidé de garder le silence sur sa participation au braquage.

Speech is silver, silence is golden

(mieux vaut se taire que de parler) (proverb)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")

a code of silence, a conspiracy of silence

nom féminin (loi empêchant de parler)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

a minute of silence

nom féminin (silence en hommage à un mort)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

stay silent, keep silent

locution verbale (respecter le silence)

observe a minute's silence

locution verbale (se recueillir en silence)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Par respect pour la mémoire de tous les soldats défunts, nous observerons une minute de silence chaque 11 novembre.

keep quiet

locution verbale (figuré (taire [qch])

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
Il passa sous silence son affaire avec le patron.

reduce to silence

locution verbale (empêcher [qqn] de parler)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

reduce to silence

locution verbale (forcer [qqn] à se taire)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

silence

locution verbale (figuré (tuer, supprimer) (kill: figurative)

(transitive verb: Verb taking a direct object--for example, "Say something." "She found the cat.")

the quiet game

nom masculin (jeu enfantin) (children's game)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

withdraw into silence

locution verbale (s'enfermer dans son silence)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

deathly silence, deathly hush

nom masculin (familier, péjoratif (silence pesant)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

awkward silence

nom masculin (expression de gêne)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Elle marqua son discours de plusieurs silences gênés.

icy silence

nom masculin (figuré (atmosphère très tendue)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

heavy silence

nom masculin (silence perturbant)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

eloquent silence

nom masculin (silence évocateur)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La fin du discours fut marquée par un silence qui en disait long.

radio silence

nom masculin (toute émission stoppée)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

radio silence

nom masculin (figuré (absence de nouvelles) (figurative)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)

Lights... Camera... Action!

(indication de metteur en scène)

break your silence

locution verbale (finir par parler)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

break your silence

locution verbale (se décider à parler)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")
ⓘCette phrase n'est pas une traduction de la phrase originale. The young man broke his silence to speak of the atrocities he had suffered as a child.

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of silence in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.