Difference Between Silent and Silence

Silent vs Silence

Silent and Silence are two words in English that are often confused when it comes to their usage. The word ‘silent’ is used as an adverb. On the other hand, the word ‘silence’ is used as noun. This is the main difference between the two words.

Observe the two sentences,

1.He was silent on the issue.

2.The girl remained silent.

In both the sentences, you can see that the word ‘silent’ is used as an adverb. Sometimes the word ‘silent’ is used as an adjective too. Observe the two sentences,

1.The silent person left the scene.

2.The silent surroundings appeared serene.

In both the sentences, given above you can see that the word ‘silent’ is used as adjective. This is an important observation to make while using the word ‘silent’. Hence, it is thoroughly understood that the word ‘silent’ is used both as an adjective and adverb.

On the other hand, the word ‘silence’ is used as a noun only. It is used in the sense of ‘calm’, ‘quiet’ or ‘unvoiced’. Observe the two sentences

1.There was silence all around the stadium.

2.Pin drop silence was maintained in the classroom.

In both the sentences, you can see that the word ‘silence’ is used in the sense of ‘calmness’ or ‘unvoiced environment’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘there was calmness all around the stadium’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘pin drop calmness was maintained in the classroom’.

It is interesting to note that the word ‘silent’ has the adverbial form in the word ‘silently’ as in the sentence ‘she looked at him silently’. Here the word ‘silently’ is used as an adverb. These are the differences between the two words, silent and silence.

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