silence

\si.lɑ̃s\

/\si.lɑ̃s\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“silence” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #1,608 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,608
frequency rank, French
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
9
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Absence de bruit.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

silence vs since
71% similar
silence vs sirène
57% similar
silence vs silice
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for silence
PropertyValue
Headwordsilence
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\si.lɑ̃s\
Letters7
Frequency rank#1,608
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs9
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “silence” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). silence lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for silence is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \si.lɑ̃s\. Corpus data places it at rank #1,608 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for silence, with forms such as "islence", "sielnce", and "silecne". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 9 confusable-pair relationships, "since", "sirène", "silice", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is silence, spelled S-I-L-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Absence de bruit.
  2. 2
    Le fait de se taire, de ne plus faire de bruit.
  3. 3
    Action de ne pas exprimer sa pensée, oralement ou par écrit ; fait de se taire.
  4. 4
    Pratique religieuse observée dans la plupart des communautés monastiques.
  5. 5
    Absence de mention d’une chose, du manque de témoignage sur un sujet, sur un fait.
  6. 6
    Absence d’un document pertinent dans un moteur de recherche.
  7. 7
    Interruption du son dans une phrase musicale.
  8. 8
    Signes qui marquent cette interruption.

Synonyms

calme

Antonyms

bruitcacophoniemélodiemusiqueson

This word in other languages

silence(English)silencio(Español)Stille(Deutsch)silêncio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: islence,sielnce,silecne,silencce,silenec,silennce,sillence,silnece,slience,ssilence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of silence - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

islence2sielnce2silecne2silencce1silenec2silennce1sillence1silnece2
Edit distance from "silence"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "silence"?
"silence" is spelled S-I-L-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \si.lɑ̃s\.
What does "silence" mean?
As a noun, "silence" means: Absence de bruit.
What words are commonly confused with "silence"?
"silence" is commonly confused with "since", "sirène", "silice". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "silence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "silence" is \si.lɑ̃s\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "silence" come from?
"silence" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “silence”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is S-I-L-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \si.lɑ̃s\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “since” - see the side-by-side comparison. silence vs since
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list