According to Merriam-Webster, the definition for silence is:
"1: forbearance from speech or noise2: absence of sound or noise"Amplitude is a measure of the size of sound waves. It depends on the amount of energy that started the waves. Greater amplitude waves have more energy and greater intensity, so they sound louder. As sound waves travel farther from their source, the more spread out their energy becomes.
A Vacume
Speech Whisper Shout Silence
Silence is most useful when broken.
there was an instant silence between the two of them.
The silence was deafening.
An oxymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous terms. "Eloquent silence" does not fit this definition as well as "deafening silence" does, because deafening is the exact opposite of silence; however, eloquent ishighly incongruant. Other common examples are "jumbo shrimp" and "bittersweet". A humorous example would be "military intelligence".
Oxymoron!
The term "deafening silence" is an example of an oxymoron, which is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. In this case, "deafening" suggests a loud or overwhelming sound, while "silence" indicates the absence of sound. This creates a powerful and evocative image for the reader, emphasizing the profound impact of the silence being described.
The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the occasional rustle of paper.
"That moment was bittersweet for me."
Old Time Gospel Hour - 1956 The Deafening Silence of America's Pulpits was released on: USA: 6 June 1993
This is a common literary technique called bad writing. If everyone dropped their books at the same time, there would not be silence. As for the technical term, "deafening silence" is an oxymoron.
This is a common literary technique called bad writing. If everyone dropped their books at the same time, there would not be silence. As for the technical term, "deafening silence" is an oxymoron.
The word "deafening" is used maliciously (it is usually a loud noise that is deafening). Thus if something someone says is greeted with a "deafening silence" what has been said has NOT been liked by the people that it was said to. - they have not given ANY audible response.
trust to yourself!
The literary technique in this sentence is personification, where the mistake is given human-like qualities of causing a deafening silence. This technique helps create a vivid and impactful image for the reader.