What does silence mean?
Word: Silence
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Silence means a complete lack of sound, when nobody speaks and nothing can be heard.
Synonyms: quiet
How do you spell silence?
Syllables: si - lence
Tricky part: The vowel before the n is weak, so children cannot hear it clearly and guess a. It is the same vowel you see in silent.
Watch out for: silance, silince
Memory tip: This word belongs with silent, so whatever vowel silent has, this word keeps.
Idioms and Phrases
- silence is golden: it is often better to say nothing than to speak. Example: "My grandmother smiled and said that silence is golden when two friends are cross."
Silence in a sentence
Example 1: There was a long silence after the teacher asked her question.
Example 2: We walked through the forest in silence, hoping to spot a deer.
Example 3: Snow fell in perfect silence over the hills of Scotland.
Fun Fact
A famous piece by the composer John Cage, first played in 1952, asks the performers to play no notes at all for 4 minutes and 33 seconds. It turns silence into the music.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
silence
a) peace
b) hush
c) stillness
d) noise
Show answer
d) noise. Hush and stillness mean nearly the same as the word given, and peace is close to them; noise is the opposite.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
sillence
a) l
b) s
c) c
d) n
Show answer
a) l. Silent has a lone l as well.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
A sudden cilence fell over the hall when the headmistress walked in.
a) hall
b) headmistress
c) cilence
d) sudden
Show answer
c) cilence. The word begins with an s, not a c.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) hushed
b) whisper
c) silense
d) murmur
Show answer
c) silense. The sound at the end is spelt with ce, not se.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. During which of these would a class most likely work in silence?
a) a birthday party
b) a music rehearsal
c) a football match
d) a written test
Show answer
d) a written test
2. When a speaker's joke is met with silence, the audience ____.
a) claps very loudly
b) sings along happily
c) does not react at all
d) laughs out loud
Show answer
c) does not react at all
