Dictionary

conspiracy of silence en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kənˌspɪɹəsi əv ˈsaɪləns/

Etymology

From conspiracy + of + silence.

Meanings

1. Synonym of wall of silence.
   • Biggs—in the presence of Colonel Bristo—made a last effort to induce Sergeant Compton to join the conspiracy of silence regarding the identity of Miles, the Australian adventurer. 1902, E. W. Hornung, chapter 31, in At Large:
   • That its educated followers no longer believed in a physical Hell, that its more advanced clergy had entered into a conspiracy of silence on the subject was no answer. 1919, Jerome K. Jerome, chapter 2, in All Roads Lead to Calvary:
   • “There's a conspiracy of silence in medicine around death and dying.” 2001 May 15, Jane E. Brody, “A Conversation with Dan Shapiro: A Doctor's Story of Hope, Humor and Deadly Cancer”, in New York Times, retrieved 08 Aug 2012:
   • But neither spoke to the other on the subject. They had entered into a conspiracy of silence. 1889, H. Rider Haggard, chapter 24, in Beatrice:

Forms

Relateds

Vegas rule · omertà

Synonyms

wall of silence

Translations (3)

pl zmowa milczenia (an agreement) · de Stillschweigen vereinbaren (an agreement) · de Schweigekartell (an agreement)