SILENCING Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

silencing

verb

present participle of silence

as in shushing

to stop the noise or speech of the instructor quickly silenced anyone who tried to interrupt we need to have a repairman come and silence that door alarm

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in suppressing

to put a stop to (something) by the use of force brutally silenced all political dissent in the country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of silencing AstraZeneca and Ionis will reveal details on why their rival gene-silencing drug, eplontersen, failed a pivotal Phase 3 study. — Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 27 Aug. 2026 Prosecutors caught the elder Spitze helping his son contact four minor victims to try silencing them with gifts or orders to destroy evidence. — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 20 Aug. 2026 Response to ‘silencing’ claims As part of the suit, the city filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 15 Aug. 2026 President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been consolidating power and silencing dissent in recent years. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2026 The researchers went further, looking at liver cells in the lab to see if silencing FNIP1 could turn on fat-burning genes. — Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026 Trust the Brontës to be a squadron of Shtumtroopers, silencing people to bits. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026 Liv Morgan secured a clean Women's World Championship defense against Iyo Sky, silencing critics. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026 Like in Dickinson’s poem, anger often feels like the only way to assert oneself in a society that seems hell-bent on silencing women and girls. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 27 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for silencing

Verb

Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye.

— Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Wine country with kids in tow doesn’t have to mean a stressful afternoon of shushing and screen time.

— Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026

Definition of shushing

Verb

Rather than suppressing appetite, the compound appears to boost energy expenditure, according to a study published in Science Advances.

— Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Increasingly, the wildfires that most urgently need suppressing ignite in the interfaces between rural and urban areas, places smokejumpers were not originally intended to go.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of suppressing

Verb

Seattle comforts you with its natural beauty, quieting your mind and heightening your senses.

— Giovanna Caravetta, Travel + Leisure, 25 Aug. 2026
Five minutes later, Messi gave Miami the lead, curling his shot in tight space past three defenders, quieting the sellout crowd at Subaru Park.

— Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of quieting

Verb

The break with Callaway was the first sign that Good Good’s attempts at quelling the crisis were not going well after Clark’s statement on social media Wednesday night.

— Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
As Matt Reeves is hard at work in Gotham City, James Gunn is quelling some overeager fans about the timeline of the Batman trilogy.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of quelling

Verb

Among several solutions such as time limits and muting notifications during certain hours, the changes include giving teens the option to choose to view a non-algorithmic social media feed that isn’t personalized.

— Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
During the third act, in a cunning effect, when anyone picks up a phone, the screen’s contents are displayed on a wall as the lights fade, muting the friends onstage.

— Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026

Definition of muting

Verb

The drones rip through the hallways scanning for a threat before disorienting a suspect using flashing lights and subduing them using pepper balls or by ramming into their body, the company says.

— Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
This means the market makers, often called dealers, are the ones that have to play catch-up, adding to volatility instead of subduing it.

— Oliver Renick, CNBC, 23 July 2026

Definition of subduing

Verb

If you’re used to traditional decluttering strategies that focus on sorting and purging, house hushing might feel strange.

— Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026
There are a lot of ways to declutter out there—the pile method and the discernment method are two of them, and now, everyone’s hushing their house.

— Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025

Definition of hushing

Verb

When elites are strong, dictators need to accommodate them, often by repressing outsiders to shield insiders from potential challenges.

— José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026
Normally, this modifier gene suppresses the creation of a second kind of hemoglobin, typically made only during fetal development; repressing the gene prompts cells to start making the fetal form of hemoglobin again, which acts as a backup.

— Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026

Definition of repressing

Browse Nearby Words

silences

silencing

silent

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Silencing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/silencing. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of silencing

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

apiary

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes