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verstummen

to fall silent

verb fer-SHTUM-men Less Common
Communication Speech

Origin: from 'stumm' (mute)

Also means

to die down (of sound)

Usage Note

verstummen means to go quiet, to stop speaking or sounding: plötzlich verstummen. It uses sein as auxiliary and applies to people falling silent and to noise or criticism dying away (die Kritik verstummte). Built on stumm, mute.

Examples

"Als sie eintrat, verstummten alle Gespräche."

Natural Translation

When she entered, all conversations fell silent.

Literal Translation

As she entered, fell-silent all conversations.

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