silence

brief, momentary, a moment's, short

After the announcement, a brief silence fell over the crowded room.

absolute, complete, dead, deadly, deathly, total, utter

The classroom fell into absolute silence when the teacher walked in with a serious expression.

awkward, embarrassed, embarrassing, strained, uncomfortable

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room after she asked the difficult question.

brooding

After the argument, a brooding silence filled the room for hours.

companionable

After dinner, the two old friends sat together in companionable silence, watching the sunset.

maintain

After the argument, he maintained silence for three days before apologizing.

break, interrupt, punctuate, shatter

She interrupted the silence with a nervous laugh when he asked her to marry him.

lapse into, relapse into, retreat into, subside into, trail into (all only used about people)

After the argument, she retreated into silence and wouldn't speak to anyone for days.

stun sb into

His harsh criticism stunned her into silence for the rest of the meeting.

be met with

His request for a pay raise was met with silence from his manager.

descend, fall

A heavy silence descended on the family dinner table after the argument ended.

hang, prevail, reign

An awkward silence hung over the dinner table after his rude comment.

deepen, grow, lengthen, spread, stretch

As nobody spoke, the silence in the room deepened with each passing minute.

in (the) ~

The two old friends sat together in silence, watching the sunset over the ocean.

deafening

After the announcement, the deafening silence in the room made everyone uncomfortable.

keep, maintain

The witness maintained silence throughout the entire trial, refusing to answer any questions.

~ from

We were worried by the sudden silence from our friends after the argument.

a conspiracy/wall of silence

When the scandal broke, the company's wall of silence frustrated journalists trying to get answers.

a vow of silence

The monk took a vow of silence when he joined the monastery ten years ago.

effectively

The new policy effectively silenced the concerns that employees had raised for months.

abruptly, instantly

The music stopped instantly, and silence filled the entire room.

fail to

The mayor's explanation failed to silence the angry protesters outside city hall.

with

He managed to quiet the noisy classroom with just a raised hand.