vow of silence
Sworn wordless commitment
A vow of silence is a commitment to refrain from speaking, typically for spiritual or religious purposes.
Monks and nuns may take permanent or temporary vows of silence as a form of discipline or devotion.
The phrase extends to any deliberate decision to stay quiet about something: She took a vow of silence about the family scandal.
- asceticismSevere self-denial practice
- solitudeState of being alone
- monasticismCloistered religious living
- silent retreatVoiceless contemplative gathering
- prayerAddress to deity
contemplation · spiritual discipline · oath-taking · sworn to secrecy · vow · Trappist · nonverbal communication · desert fathers · sign language · speaking volumes · introspection · protest · penance · cloistered life · monastic order · retreat · muteness · solidarity
- abstinencesobriety, celibacy, chastity, teetotalism, fasting
- oathsoath taking, swearing in, oath ceremony, sworn oath, oath of honor
- silencequiet, silent, mute, hush, stillness
- monastic lifecelibacy, cloister, habit, vespers, obedience
- monasticismabbeys, abbey, abbots, abbot, cloister
- asceticismabstinence, celibacy, ascetic, austerities, chastity
vow of silencelogorrhea
Compulsive excessive wordiness
loquacity · verbosity · garrulousness · verbal diarrhea · volubility
vow of silencefull disclosure
Withholding no information
tell-all · breaking silence · confession · whistleblowing · public testimony
vow of silencepublic speaking
Addressing a live audience
oratory · preaching · soapboxing · holding forth · social butterfly