"silences" in the noun sense
1. silence
the state of being silent (as when no one is speaking
"there was a shocked silence"
"he gestured for silence"
2. silence, quiet
the absence of sound
"he needed silence in order to sleep"
"the street was quiet"
3. muteness, silence
a refusal to speak when expected
"his silence about my contribution was surprising"
4. secrecy, secretiveness, silence
the trait of keeping things secret
"silences" in the verb sense
1. hush, quieten, silence, still, shut up, hush up
cause to be quiet or not talk
"Please silence the children in the church!"
2. silence
keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure
"All dissenters were silenced when the dictator assumed power"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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