to reduce sb to silence

  • 1silence — 1 noun 1 NO NOISE (U) complete absence of sound or noise: In the silence he heard a faint clicking noise. (+ of): Nothing disturbed the silence of the night. | silence falls (on/upon) (=it begins to be completely quiet): After the explosion, an… …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 2reduce (someone) to (something) — to force someone into a worse condition than usual. He had to sell his home to pay his legal fees and was reduced to parking cars for money. Sheila s cries reduced him to silence …

    New idioms dictionary

  • 3reduce — verb 1 (T) to make something smaller or less in size, amount, or price: We were hoping that they would reduce the rent a little. | reduce sth by half/ten percent etc: The workforce has been reduced by half. (+ to): All the shirts were reduced to… …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 4reduce — [[t]rɪdju͟ːs, AM du͟ːs[/t]] ♦♦ reduces, reducing, reduced 1) VERB If you reduce something, you make it smaller in size or amount, or less in degree. [V n] It reduces the risks of heart disease... [V n] Consumption is being reduced by 25 per cent …

    English dictionary

  • 5reduce — re|duce W1S1 [rıˈdju:s US rıˈdu:s] v [Date: 1300 1400; : Latin; Origin: reducere to lead back , from ducere to lead ] 1.) [T] to make something smaller or less in size, amount, or price = ↑cut →↑reduction ▪ The governor announced a new plan to… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 6reduce — re|duce [ rı dus ] verb transitive *** 1. ) to make something smaller or less in size, amount, importance, etc: CUT DOWN: Try to reduce the amount of fat in your diet. reduce something by something: The workforce will be reduced by around 30… …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 7reduce to — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms reduce to : present tense I/you/we/they reduce to he/she/it reduces to present participle reducing to past tense reduced to past participle reduced to 1) reduce something to something to make something change… …

    English dictionary

  • 8silence — I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French, from Latin silentium, from silent , silens Date: 13th century 1. forbearance from speech or noise ; muteness often used interjectionally 2. absence of sound or noise ; stillness < in the&#8230; …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 9silence — 1. noun 1) the silence of the night Syn: quietness, quiet, quietude, still, stillness, hush, tranquility, noiselessness, soundlessness, peacefulness, peace (and quiet) Ant: sound 2) …

    Thesaurus of popular words

  • 10silence — Synonyms and related words: answer, answer conclusively, argue down, asphyxiate, ataraxia, ataraxy, blow to pieces, blow up, blunt, bottle up, brain, brevity, briefness, bring down, brusqueness, burn to death, calm, calmness, censor, choke, choke …

    Moby Thesaurus