absolute silence
collocation in Englishmeaningsofabsoluteandsilence
These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withsilence.
absolute
adjective
uk/ˈæb.sə.luːt/us/ˈæb.sə.luːt/
very great or to the largest ...
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silence
noun
uk/ˈsaɪ.ləns/us/ˈsaɪ.ləns/
a period without any sound; ...
See more atsilence
(Definition ofabsoluteandsilencefrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)
Examplesofabsolute silence
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
So on the first occasion that they were ever performed to an audience, the closing moments of the drama were presented inabsolutesilence.
From theCambridge English Corpus
It is perfectly true that they maintain a strict andabsolutesilenceon the subject.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Whether they experience a great deal of noise orabsolutesilence, either would be preferable to their making a nuisance of themselves at home.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
This subsection means, in so many words, that when the verdict is "guilty"it is given but that when it is"not guilty" there isabsolutesilence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
There wasabsolutesilenceon the growing crisis of funding police pensions.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
They get complete andabsolutesilenceand a refusal to address the issue.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
There is someone who has never known whatabsolutesilenceis.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
I am almost certain that the response will beabsolutesilence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
I have listened for hours inabsolutesilenceand without interrupting anybody.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
I quite agree that it should be kept within the narrowest limits, but to insist onabsolutesilencewould be rather severe.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
However, there isabsolutesilenceabout the unions, now threatened by the reform of labour legislation and, in certain cases, by outright police repression.
FromEuroparl Parallel Corpus - English
We did not hear a single word about the need to include social clauses and to respect them: there wasabsolutesilenceon that topic.
FromEuroparl Parallel Corpus - English
There wasabsolutesilenceand unwillingness to give an expectant country any enlightenment as to what was happening.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
You must haveabsolutesilenceif a speaker is to get any kind of hearing at all.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Instead, we haveabsolutesilencefrom them—save for sedentary muttering.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Would they have consented toabsolutesilenceupon the dear food cry, and have that put altogether on one side and devoted themselves to the hereditary principle.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
There has beenabsolutesilence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
That question was greeted withabsolutesilence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
That is a powerfulabsolutesilence.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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See other collocations withsilence