definition of silence

Silence can be the abstention from speaking or, failing that, the absence of noise.

Refraining from talking or absence of noise

In the framework of a conversation, a chat, silence can present different questions, that is, be part of the normal punctuation of a sentenceWhen you finish commenting on something, there will be silence to give the interlocutor room to respond to the comment we have made; or conversely, silence in the middle of a conversation could have a dramatic charge precisely related to something that is being talked about and the intention of saying something with silence, that is, when someone is silent many times it means much more than with words.

Let's think of a conversation that two people have in which they argue about some issue that concerns them, the silence that one of the parties may achieve may want to refer to the other that they no longer want to continue talking or discussing the subject, or also the lack of interest on the topic.

Factors that can trigger silence

On the other hand, there are people who choose to be silent, not to speak, not to answer questions or requests from anyone because if they speak they will be involved in some act that is imputed to them.

This usually happens in the judicial sphere where normally those accused of an offense tend to opt for silence, not to answer questions from the investigators or the judge so that this does not further harm their situation.

And another context in which silence is recurrent is the religious one, especially in the case of convents where cloistered nuns reside who precisely take vows of silence and cannot speak to anyone, or do so minimally. They only accept prayer and some other type of activity but always in silence and discreetly with respect to their companions.

Types of silence and the places where it is necessary to do so

So all these distinctions indicate the existence of two types of silences, the objective silence (which will be the absence of sound without any other type of connotation) and the subjective silence (which is the reflective pause that will be used in order to accentuate what was said before or after the silence).

"When it was time for the toast, Juan asked to speak and after making a pronounced silence he told his entire family that he will be a father"; "I was talking on the phone with Laura and suddenly she was silent because she had a dizziness that caused her to faint."

Also, silence will be the lack or decrease of noise in a given situation and place. "The silence in the house after the boys left was really distressing"; "When the students were silent, the teacher was able to resume class."

There are many places in which silence is required due to a matter of respect for the situation experienced by third parties, such is the case of hospitals, medical centers, cemeteries, wakes, among others; in libraries where silence is required so that people who are there reading books or doing some work can concentrate and do so in a compliant way, a question that without silence would certainly be impossible; and in the churches silence, except in those moments when the homily requires it, is also a recurring condition.

There are some passages of the celebration of the same in which silence is essential so that the faithful connect with God and can establish a direct conversation with him without intermediaries, and of course intimate.

Music: pause

Likewise, in the field of music we find a reference for the term silence, in this way it designates the sign that fulfills the function of indicating the duration of a pause. Each musical note has its own silence, the values of which will correspond to the duration of each note. On many occasions it is defined as a note that is not played.

Another use of the word is to refer to effect of not speaking or not expressing a question in writing.

On the other hand, silence is also used as a resource for verbal that could suddenly be used at the behest of a communication to signify some special question, such as anger, depression, among other possibilities.

Administrative silence: rejection of an order

The Administrative silence, at the request of Right, is the tacit dismissal of a petition or appeal after the deadline that the public administration had set to resolve the issue in dispute has occurred.