silence vs hush

[jctgf]

hi there,

what's the difference between these words?

can i use both in the very same situation?

thanks,
JC

 

[Uncle M]

Not really.

Silence, by definition, means a complete lack of noise.

Hush is an onomatopoeic utterance (such as moo, ping etc), a verb, calling for silence:

"Hush, I can't hear what my friend is saying."

It has, however, become used as a noun occasionally - not in the sense of absolute silence but as a much lower level of sound:

"A hush descended upon the audience as the lights faded."

Hope this helps.

Dave

 

[Darateachesall08]

Hi JC,

Well silence and hush are different. Silence is when you cannot hear anything, but hush is a temporary form of silence...we say it when we want to be quiet for a short time. I don't use hush often but it's used a lot by others. For example, "hush" is like saying "be quiet" or "shh" to someone or a group of people.

I hope this helps!

Dara

 

[mykwyner]

Silence! can be used as a one-word command, a demand for immediate silence. It would never be considered polite. Hush! would be a somewhat more polite demand. Please be quiet would be an even more polite request.

 

[jctgf]

hi,

suppose that i am in a movie theater auditorium and
there's people making noise.

what should i say if i wanted to ask them to be quiet?

thanks,
JC

 

[mykwyner]

Please be quiet.