the silent treatment
noun
: the act of ignoring someone because one is angry at him or her
Whenever she gets mad at me, she gives me the silent treatment.
Examples of the silent treatment in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Secondly, those who pander to the stereotype of women being incredible communicators have clearly never endured a night of the silent treatment or a blazing row over who was supposed to take the bins out.
—
Charlotte Moore, refinery29.com, 8 Mar. 2024
Part of the reason for the silent treatment has been that Biden and Democrats are doing plenty of work themselves to sow doubt about the president’s future.
—Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 12 July 2024
Cyrus would also give her the silent treatment for hours and days at a time, Firerose claimed.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 30 June 2024
China is also giving Canberra the silent treatment—suspending dialogues and refusing requests for official meetings.
—Michael Fullilove, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2022
Claudia is still giving him a version of the silent treatment after what happened with Lestat (Sam Reid), and their environment isn't helping things.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 13 May 2024
Dear Carolyn: How to deal with a long-term friend who punishes people — including her 90-year-old mother, her daughter, her husband and me — with the silent treatment, lasting weeks or months?
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
For example, the individual gives their partner the silent treatment and goes on a long walk without informing them of their whereabouts.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
As his teammates continued to give him the silent treatment, Ohtani raised his arms and waved them.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
Charlotte Moore, refinery29.com, 8 Mar. 2024
Part of the reason for the silent treatment has been that Biden and Democrats are doing plenty of work themselves to sow doubt about the president’s future.
—Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 12 July 2024
Cyrus would also give her the silent treatment for hours and days at a time, Firerose claimed.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 30 June 2024
China is also giving Canberra the silent treatment—suspending dialogues and refusing requests for official meetings.
—Michael Fullilove, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2022
Claudia is still giving him a version of the silent treatment after what happened with Lestat (Sam Reid), and their environment isn't helping things.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 13 May 2024
Dear Carolyn: How to deal with a long-term friend who punishes people — including her 90-year-old mother, her daughter, her husband and me — with the silent treatment, lasting weeks or months?
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
For example, the individual gives their partner the silent treatment and goes on a long walk without informing them of their whereabouts.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
As his teammates continued to give him the silent treatment, Ohtani raised his arms and waved them.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the silent treatment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near the silent treatment
Cite this Entry
“The silent treatment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20silent%20treatment. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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