This post contains some of the best silent treatment quotes.
Silent Treatment Quotes
1. “‘I love you,’ I whisper in his ear. No response. ‘I love you.’ nothing. I love you, Sam.’ My silent treatment had been reinstated.” — Maryanne Pope
2. “A comfortable silence between two people often means a strong sense of trust.” — Unknown
3. “A fair request should be followed by the deed in silence.” ― Dante Alighieri
4. “A fool is known by his speech, and a wise man by silence.” – Pythagoras
5. “A heart worth loving is one you understand, even in silence.” — Shannon L. Alder
6. “A narcissist’s silent treatment isn’t because you hurt their feelings. It’s manipulation to cause you psychological pain so they can further their control over you.” — Russell Brand
7. “A restless mind that seeks peace finds a true paradise when he finds a place where its soul blessed with silence!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan
8. “A silent treatment is much effective than removing display picture.” — Radhika Goel
9. “After another moment’s silence, she mumbled that I was peculiar, that that was probably why she loved me but that one day I might disgust her for the very same reason” ― Albert Camus
10. “And now there is merely silence, silence, silence, saying all we did not know.” ― William R Benet
11. “And they lived happily (aside from a few normal disagreements, misunderstandings, pouts, silent treatments, and unexpected calamities) ever after.” — Jean Ferris
12. “At least if I keep my love a secret, he and I can still have this wonderful, odd, exciting relationship where I love him in silence and pretend he’s loving me in silence too.” ― Katy Evans
13. “At one time or another, we have all faced the temptation to disconnect by giving someone the silent treatment.” — Victoria Osteen
14. “Be silent always when you doubt your sense.” — Alexander Pope
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15. “Be wise and break the silent treatment before it breaks down your relationship beyond repair. Pride repels love; ask the devil he will tell you.” — Khuliso Mamathoni
16. “Because sometimes silence speaks much louder than words possibly could.” ― Elizabeth Eulberg
17. “Being quiet does not mean passivity. It means being more tolerant, understanding, and focused.” — Remez Sasson
18. “Being silent is better than a mere argument. Sometimes words fail to assert their importance and silence does in its way.” — Unknown
19. “Better remain silent, better not even think, if you are not prepared to act.” – Annie Besant
20. “Between what is said and not meant and what is meant and not said, most of love is lost.” — Khalil Gibran
21. “By deliberately not responding to your reasonable calls, text messages, emails, or other inquiries, the manipulator presumes power by making you wait, and intends to place doubt and uncertainty in your mind. The silent treatment is a head game where silence is used as a form of leverage.” — Preston Ni
22. “Created a word game to play with a person you’re fighting with. ‘Silent Treatment.’ Nothing happens until one of you quietly says, ‘Hey, you hungry?’” — Dane Cook
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23. “Distance doesn’t separate people…silence does.” ― Jeff Hood
24. “Do you want to tell me why I’m getting the silent treatment?’ He asked gruffly, his breath hot on my ear.” — Samantha Young
25. “Don’t ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance, or my kindness for weakness.” ― Carson Kolhoff
26. “Don’t give people so much power over you that their silence leaves you questioning your worth.” – Unknown
27. “Don’t let their “silent treatment” reduce you to silence.” – Unknown
28. “Don’t treat a woman’s silence as her weakness. Treat it like the calm before the storm. Yes, the silent treatment.” — Unknown
29. “Don’t waste words on people who deserve your silence. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is nothing at all.” — Mandy Hale
30. “Emotional abuse is any kind of abuse that is not physical in nature. It can include everything from verbal abuse to the silent treatment.” — Beverly Engel
31. “Every silence speaks a thousand words in itself.” — Unknown
32. “Experience teaches us that silence terrifies people the most.” — Bob Dylan
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33. “Fall in love with someone who is comfortable with your silence. Find someone who doesn’t need your words to know it’s time to kiss you.” — Clairabelle Ann
34. “For me, family means the silent treatment. At any given moment, someone is always not speaking to someone else.” — Sarah Dessen
35. “Giving someone the silent treatment speaks volumes about your character.” — Ralph Downey
36. “God is not only not giving you the silent treatment, he is practically yelling.” — Jared C. Wilson
37. “He refuses to listen, he ignores your questions, he withholds eye contact and he gives you the ‘silent treatment.’ He’s punishing you!” — Nancy Nichols
38. “He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” ― Elbert Hubbard
39. “I closed my mouth and spoke to you in a hundred silent ways.” — Rumi
40. “I combat the silent treatment with the ‘didn’t even notice’ treatment.” — Shelley
41. “I have heard the languages of apocalypse, and now I shall embrace the silence.” ― Neil Gaiman
42. “I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” – Khalil Gibran
43. “I kept every emotion locked up tight inside. I knew Leo was deeply hurt by my silence, and I liked hurting him, liked sharing my pain. Misery loves company, and I was a big hole of darkness, drawing everyone around me into my despair.” ― Ann Mayburn
44. “I knew enough about women to take the “silent treatment” for the gift it was.” — B. V. Larson
45. “I need someone who is comfortable with my silence.” – Unknown
46. “I need to be alone. I need to ponder my shame and my despair in seclusion; I need the sunshine and the paving stones of the streets without companions, without conversation, face to face with myself, with only the music of my heart for company.” ― Henry Miller
47. “I prefer not to elaborate on the various stages of our dealings over the next few days – disbelief, anger, recrimination, the raking up of old sores, bitter silence and so on – but I can say that they gave lasting strength to our relationship, like a thick scar is stronger than the skin around it.” ― John Mole
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48. “I promise to dream with you both great dreams and small dreams. To ask your counsel in times of uncertainty. To honor your silence when you seek to be alone. To be ever wondrous at your curiosities and revelations. And to be ever rejuvenated by your passions …” ― Carew Papritz
49. “I turn off the radio and listen to the quiet. Which has its own, rich sound. Which I knew, but had forgotten. And it is good to remember.” ― Elizabeth Berg
50. “I’m a very “what’s the problem so we can fix it” type. That silent treatment shit is dead. Grow up and learn how to communicate.” – Unknown
51. “I’ve begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own.” ― Chaim Potok
52. “If there were a little more silence, if we all kept quiet…maybe we could understand something.” ― Federico Fellini
53. “In human intercourse, the tragedy begins, not when there is a misunderstanding about words, but when silence is not understood.” — Henry David Thoreau
54. “In real, adult relationships, however, the ‘silent treatment’ can be a vicious weapon when used with an undertone of intimidation.” — Aubrey Cole
55. “In silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves.” ― Rumi
56. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
57. “In the silence of listening, you can know yourself in everyone, the unseen singing softly to itself and to you.” — Rachel Naomi Remen
58. “Is your conscience giving you the silent treatment?” — Frank Sonnenberg
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59. “It is more noble by silence to avoid an injury than by argument to overcome it.” ― Francis Beaumont
60. “It is not easy to keep silent when silence is a lie.” – Victor Hugo
61. “It’s not real anger if it is implied or a few degrees removed if it takes the form of whispering, or cold shoulders, or silent treatment.” — Koren Zailckas
62. “It’s only in silence that you can judge of your relationshipto a person.” ― Dorothy Richardson
63. “It’s such a simple torture—the silent treatment.” — Holly Bourne
64. “Just close your eyes and come and meet me in that place where we can share the music of our silence” ― Mimi Novic
65. “Life’s most deep feelings are often expressed in silence and the one who can read volumes from your silence is your true companion.” ― Ritu Ghatourey
66. “Listen to silence. It has so much to say.” – Rumi
67. “Listen to the silence inside the illusion of the world, and you will remember the lesson you forgot.” — Jack Kerouac
68. “Meditation is silence, energizing and fulfilling. Silent is the eloquent expression of the inexpressible.” ― Sri Chinmoy
69. “My fear of being real, of being seen, paralyzes me into silence. I crave the touch and the connection, but I’m not always brave enough to open my hand and reach out. This is the great challenge: to be seen, accepted, and loved, I must first reveal, offer, and surrender.” ― Anna White
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70. “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” ― Will Rogers
71. “Never mistake a woman’s silence for weakness.” — Unknown
72. “No response is a response. And it’s a powerful one.” — Unknown
73. “Non-judgment quiets the internal dialogue, and this opens once again the doorway to creativity.” ― Deepak Chopra
74. “Now all my teachers are dead except for silence.” — W. S. Merwin
75. “On those days when we’re not ready to stop being offended, not ready to forgive, still determined to dish out the silent treatment, what we’re actually saying is, ‘Thanks, but I don’t want to become more like the Savior today.’” — Sheri L. Dew
76. “Ooh, the silent treatment.” — Ally Carter
77. “Others manipulate through pouting, giving others the silent treatment, being secretive or stubborn, conniving behind others’ backs, or being intimidating.” — Les Carter
78. “Overstuffing ourselves with food or drinking until we get drunk or getting wrapped up in the affections of an adulterous relationship are all desperate attempts to silence the cries of a hungry soul.” ― Lysa TerKeurst
79. “Powerful words that penetrate the psyche are not forgotten while silence is.” ― Donna Lynn Hope
80. “Prayer means that in some unique way, we believe we’re invited into a relationship with someone who hears us when we speak in silence.” — Anne Lamott
81. “Relationships are marked by criticism, defensiveness, and silent treatment” — John M. Gottman
82. “Relationships do encounter silent treatments.” — Unknown
83. “Saying nothing sometimes says the most.”- Emily Dickinson
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84. “She keeps telling herself and others that she doesn’t want a relationship to silence the longing in her soul. That alternative fact feeds her insecurities and starves her soul.” ― Sanjo Jendayi
85. “She reassembled her deranged silent treatment of the whole of the twentieth century, but it quit before she could fire it.” — Jonathan Lethem
86. “Silence (in a relationship) is never your friend. Communication is the pathway to healing and growth.” ― Ilya Atani
87. “Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.” – Plutarch
88. “Silence brings beauty out which you have not seen in your lover before.” ― Dina Husseini
89. “Silence can have tremendous healing power, but this should not be confused with loneliness.” ― Itayi Garande
90. “Silence can often be more disturbing than noise, it reveals the complicated mechanism of our thoughts.” – Jose Rodrigues Migueis
91. “Silence cannot be mispronounced, Silence cannot be misinterpreted, silence cannot be misquoted.” ― Amit Kalantri
92. “Silence doesn’t always mean “Yes”. Sometimes it means, “I’m tired of explaining to people who don’t even care to understand.” – Unknown
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93. “Silence doesn’t mean that person quits, it simply means that one doesn’t want to argue with people who just don’t want to understand.” – Unknown
94. “Silence doesn’t mean we have run out of things to say, only that we are trying not to say them.” – Kwame Alexander
95. “Silence falls, pulsing with the truth of what I’ve learned and what Dean has yet to acknowledge. Our relationship, our love, cannot and will never be perfect. It will, however, always belong only to us in all its flawed, intense beauty. Perfect in its very imperfection.” ― Nina Lane
96. “Silence gives us a new way of looking at something.” – Mother Teresa
97. “Silence is a girl’s loudest cry. You know she’s really hurt when she starts ignoring you.” — Unknown
98. “Silence is a source of great strength.”- Lao Tzu
99. “Silence is a true friend who never betrays.” – Confucius
100. “Silence is always golden but it becomes imitation junk when communication breaks between relationships.” ― Amit Abraham
101. “Silence is argument carried out by other means.” — Ernesto Che Guevara
102. “Silence is argument carried out by other means.” ― Che Guevara
103. “Silence is argument carried out by other means.”- Ernesto Che Guevara
104. “Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute.” — Josh Billings
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105. “Silence is pure and holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking.” ― Nicholas Sparks
106. “Silence is so freaking loud.”- Sarah Dessen
107. “Silence is so important when you’re working, You must have periods where you don’t hear anything, just to reflect on you’ve already done. Otherwise you traumatize your relationship with the piece that you’re working on.” ― Lisa Gerrard
108. “Silence is sometimes the best answer.”- Dalai Lama
109. “Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together.” — Thomas Carlyle
110. “Silence is the most powerful scream.” — Unknown
111. “Silence is the safest course for any man to adopt who distrusts himself.” ― François De La Rochefoucauld
112. “Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” – Francis Bacon
113. “Silence is true wisdom’s best reply.” — Euripides
114. “Silence isn’t empty. Sometimes it’s full of pain and unanswered questions.” – Unknown
115. “Silence isn’t always agreement. Sometimes people no longer argue because they no longer care.” ― Joyce Rachelle
116. “Silence speaks in vibes, not sentences. So stop repeating yourself to those who continue to dis your warning signals.” ― T.F. Hodge
117. “Silent treatment cannot be argued with. It’s based on emotions and not on logic.” — Diana Macey
118. “Silent treatment in relationship is often a sign of selfishness and weakness!” – Malbro Kingston
119. “Silent treatment is the worst and most painful way to ignore someone.” — Dane Patrick
120. “Silent treatment: the fantastic devastation of unwanted silence. That heavy slink; how it hangs with purpose; mean, easy.” — Sabrina Benaim
121. “Since long I’ve held silence a remedy for harm.” — Aeschylus
122. “So yeah. Jesse Walker was giving me the silent treatment. I was probably the only person who could claim that honor.” — Nicole Williams
123. “Some hearts understand each other even in silence.” — Yasmin Mogahed
124. “Some people hurt by words, some by action and some by silence. But the biggest hurt is that someone ignoring us when we value them a lot.” – Unknown
125. “Sometimes silence can be beautiful. But you should try to communicate openly with your loved ones and pour your heart into the ears of understanding.” ― Mwanandeke Kindembo
126. “Sometimes you need to sit lonely on the floor in a quiet room in order to hear your own voice and not let it drown in the noise of others.” ― Charlotte Eriksson
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127. “Sometimes, the most meaningful things are found through silence.” — Unknown
128. “Speech is silver, silence is golden.”- Thomas Carlyle
129. “Staying quiet doesn’t always mean “I’m agreeing with you.” It sometimes means “I don’t think it’s worth arguing with you.” ― Mouloud Benzadi
130. “Staying silent is like a slow growing cancer to the soul and a trait of a true coward. There is nothing intelligent about not standing up for yourself. You may not win every battle. However, everyone will at least know what you stood for – you.” ― Shannon L. Alder
131. “Stop your whining. If you are frightened, be silent. Whining is for prey. It attracts predators. And you are not prey.” ― Robin Hobb
132. “Strength doesn’t have to mean putting your problems aside or showing silent treatment. Strength is sometimes being brave enough to seek the help that you need.” — J. Aleong
133. “Talking to myself I used to talk to myself until myself criticized myself. Now I’m giving myself the silent treatment.” — Beryl Dov
134. “The ‘silent treatment’ is used, to punish another person, by someone who, most likely, was raised in a dysfunctional family.” — James Thomas Kesterson Jr
135. “The ‘Silent Treatment’ makes the loudest noise of all.” — Aurora Wilson
136. “The ‘silent treatment’ solves no problems…it only makes more.” – Unknown
137. “The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
138. “The best part of silence is that the ego is switched off at least for a while, and we are focusing our attention inwards.” ― Dada J. P. Vaswani
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139. “The closer you are to the truth, the more silent you become inside.” — Naval Ravikant
140. “The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence; not in silence, but restraint.” ― Marianne Moore
141. “The fundamentalists are insistent that they know best. It’s a dictatorial attitude towards personal morality, which is a modern creation that came about in the th century.”― Steve Coogan
142. “The good and the wise lead quiet lives.”- Euripides
143. “The human heart has hidden treasures, in secret kept, in silence sealed; the thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, whose charms were broken if revealed.” ― Charlotte Bronte
144. “The longer the silence remains untouched the longer the miscommunication creates its own stories.” ― Christina Strigas
145. “The most significant conversations of our lives occur in silence.” ― Simon Van Booy
146. “The next time there’s an awkward silence, try whispering, “Did you forget your line?” ― Nitya Prakash
147. “The older I got, the more apparent it became that my mother was losing control over me. She fought back fiercely with black moods, silent treatments, and martyrdom.” — George Carlin
148. “The policy of self-isolation and continuous silence are the greatest destroyers of marriageand relationship.” ― Mwanandeke Kindembo
149. “The problem with when someone gives you “silent treatment” is that they won’t tell you about it.” – Anil Sharma
150. “The quieter you become the more you are able to hear.” – Rumi
151. “The right words are effective, but the right pauses win your wars.” — Unknown
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152. “The silence stretched out between us as I stared at him, the tears blurring my vision as I waited for him to save me from this torment. Surely he could find a way.” ― Kathryn Michaels
153. “The silent treatment can be very frustrating to us, not to mention the effect it has on others. Most of us know when we are doing it; few of us know how to stop it.” — Robert J. Ackerman
154. “The silent treatment is a passive aggressive method used to abuse victims and cause emotional damage.” – Unknown
155. “The silent treatment is an abuse. Being ignored causes the same chemical reaction in the brain as being physically hurt.” – Unknown
156. “The silent treatment is not blatant; it’s insidious. The only person who really feels the silent treatment is the target.” — Sharie Stines
157. “The silent treatment is often used to control, punish, test boundaries, avoid issues and responsibilities.” – Unknown
158. “The ‘silent treatment’ is used to punish another person by someone who, most likely, was raised in a dysfunctional family.” — James Thomas Kesterson Jr.
159. “The silent treatment isn’t really a punishment when we all wanted you to shut up in the first place.” – Unknown
160. “The ‘Silent Treatment’ makes the loudest noise of all.” — Aurora Wilson
161. “The silent treatment: A deadly killer of friendship.” — Peter Jackson
162. “It’s not about winning or losing an argument; it’s about understanding and finding common ground.” – Unknown
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163. “The things that we understand, create silence. The things that we do not, create emotion.” ― Kapil Gupta
164. “There can be nothing more baffling in a human relationship than silence, the dark loom of doubts and questions unexpressed.” — Wallis Simpson
165. “There is an ocean of silence between us… and I am drowning in it.” — Ranata Suzuki
166. “There is no real aloneness. There is solitude and the nurturing silence that is relationship with ourselves, but even then we are part of something larger.” ― Linda Hogan
167. “This ‘silent treatment,’ the withdrawal and avoidance, may last for a day or for years. The longer it continues, the more certain it is that resentment and bitterness will grow and fester.” — Gary Chapman
168. “To be silent is not to lose your tongue. On the contrary, it is only through silence that one can discover something new to talk about.” — Alan Watts
169. “To communicate through silence is a link between the thoughts of man.” ― Marcel Marceau
170. “True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” – William Penn
171. “Until you feel sick of the presence of emotionally detached men and begging them to do right by you, they keep camping in your yard, offering you silent treatments each time a conflict arises.” — Elelwani Anita Ravhuhali
172. “We fell into silence, both of us keeping our own secrets of what we’d suffered in the other’s absence. I wondered if we were trying to protect each other or simply didn’t want to admit to our own fears and weaknesses.” ― Richelle Mead
173. “We have treated our most serious adversaries, such as Iran and North Korea, in the most juvenile manner—by giving them the silent treatment. In so doing, we have weakened, not strengthened, our bargaining position and our leadership.” — Theodore C. Sorensen
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174. “We’re fascinated by the words – but where we meet is in the silence behind them.” — Ram Dass
175. “What many may call ‘the silent treatment’ is sometimes merely a matter of some individual being angry while trying not to be angry.” — Criss Jami
176. “What many may call ‘the silent treatment’ is sometimes merely a matter of some individual being angry while trying not to be angry—that internal war and self-reflection on whether or not the bomb should be dropped, and if so, in what way shall it be dropped.” ― Criss Jami
177. “When I am silent, I have thunder hidden inside.” — Rumi
178. “When she walks away, trust her when she tells you that you won’t hear from her again. Because all the times she tried to speak, you silenced her or gave her the silent treatment. All those times she tried to get you to have a breakthrough, you broke her down and made her feel like the weak one.” — Shahida Arabi
179. “When silence is used as a weapon, it can wound even more than words.” — Jill Thrussell
180. “When two people give each other the silent treatment the winner is always the one who cares the least. I never want to be the winner.” – Unknown
181. “When two people understand each other, what wonderful things they can convey in silence.” — John Faniel Barry
182. “When you’re able to transcend an aversion to silence, you’ll also transcend many other miseries.” — Wayne Dyer
183. “When your woman gives you the silent treatment, say you’re sorry, or you’ll find out how truly sorry you are when her monologue resumes.” — Wes Fesler
184. “Working hard can give you meaning. Silence can give you peace.” – Maxime Lagacé
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185. “You can hear the footsteps of God when silence reigns in the mind.” — Sathya Sai Baba
186. “You hesitate to stab me with a word, and know not – silence is the sharper sword.” ― Samuel Johnson
187. “Your ‘silent treatment’ is like a slow poison to me.” — Unknown
188. “Your “silent treatment” is like a slow poison to me. You could just say goodbye and kill me once and for all.” – Unknown
189. “Your silence is loudest to those who love you the most.” — Steve Maraboli
190. “You’ve decided not to communicate, which is really a form of communication as well.” — Emmy Kadubic
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