Phrase guide

wall of silence

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Strict secretiveness maintained by the members of a group with respect to information which might be contrary to their interests, especially information concerning questionable actions by members of the group.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • 2006 Quataert, Donald. "The Massacres of Ottoman Armenians and the Writing of Ottoman History". The Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 37 (2): 249–259. doi:10.1162/jinh.2006.37.2.249. ISSN 0022-1953. JSTOR 4139548. After the long lapse of serious Ottomanist scholarship on the Armenian question, it now appears that the Ottomanist wall of silence is crumbling.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: code of silence, conspiracy of silence

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the secrecy of police officers who lie or look the other way to protect other police officers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the blue wall cracked when some officers refused to take part in the cover-up

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blue wall of silence, blue wall

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cover-up

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.