Home › Glossary › Letter S

Silence

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The state of absence of sound, often valued in religious practice as a condition for meditation, contemplation, and listening for the divine.

Explore this topic in depth (1)

Faith and Doubt in Poetry — Poetry has long been a place for speaking towards God, searching for meaning, resisting certainty and giving shape to silence. This guide explores devotional traditions and poems of doubt while offering practical ways to read and listen across differing beliefs.

Detailed Definition
In mystical traditions from Zen Buddhism to Christian Quietism, silence is not merely an absence but a profound presence—the ground of being from which the word emerges. It is the language of God, the state of pure receptivity. Poets consistently grapple with the paradox of using words to express the ineffable, which is often best approached through silence. Poems use white space, pauses, and minimalist language to point toward the vast, wordless reality that transcends expression, making silence itself a powerful subject and technique.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Quaker poetry, Silence is worship: “Meetinghouse hush—Silence where God speaks”; In Zen verse, Silence is wisdom: “Master’s pause—Silence answers student’s question”; In contemporary poetry, Silence is grief: “Empty chair—Silence louder than eulogy”; Poets distinguish Silence types: “Oppressive Silence—vs. fertile Silence that births song.”
Additional Notes
Silence is not absence but presence—Elijah’s “still small voice,” Quaker waiting worship, Zen zazen; it is the ground where divine speech is heard; poets use silence as formal element (line breaks, white space) and spiritual practice, recognizing that what is unsaid often resonates more deeply than what is spoken.
Also Known As
Mauna (Sanskrit) Stillness Quietude whist Pause
Skip to main content