--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Truth can be outraged by silence quite as…" description: "\"Truth can be outraged by silence quite as cruelly as by speech.\" — Amelia Barr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/amelia-barr-9924_communication_truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-a_1491180.jpg" --- # Truth can be outraged by silence quite as cruelly as by… ![“Truth can be outraged by silence quite as cruelly as by speech.” quote by Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/amelia-barr-9924_communication_truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-a_1491180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/amelia-barr-9924_communication_truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-a_1491180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/amelia-barr-9924_communication_truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-a_1491180.jpg) > “Truth can be outraged by silence quite as cruelly as by speech.” [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence can be as harmful as spoken words, inflicting pain through omission. **In simple terms:** Silence can hurt as much as speech. Key Takeaway Speak up to prevent harm. Themes communication pain silence Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - public discourse - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - When have you stayed silent and caused harm? - How can you use silence constructively? A Different Perspective Words can also heal; silence isn’t always negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/truth-is-not-only-violated-by-falsehood-it-may-be-equally-outraged-by/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [“Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be outraged by silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-fr-d-ric-amiel/truth-is-not-only-violated-by-falsehood-it-may-be-outraged-by-silence/) [Henri-Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-fr-d-ric-amiel/) > [The outraged citizens of Indonesia - lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists - should be speaking up; they should be shouting. And of course, the voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/the-outraged-citizens-of-indonesia-lawyers-doctors-engineers/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [Many Americans, and many more people around the world, have been outraged by what they see as President George W. Bush's radical reordering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/many-americans-and-many-more-people-around-the-world-have-been/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [There isn’t going to be a ‘next lover,’” Grant said automatically, outraged by the idea. “I’m the only man she’s going to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/there-isn-t-going-to-be-a-next-lover-grant-said-automatically/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [As long as people allow themselves to be shocked, outraged or disgusted, there will be those who see that this happens, just so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-caro/as-long-as-people-allow-themselves-to-be-shocked-outraged-or/) [Mike Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-caro/) > [Far from seeking to justify, as does the Church, the necessity of torments and afflictions, he cried, in his outraged pity: 'If a God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joris-karl-huysmans/far-from-seeking-to-justify-as-does-the-church-the-necessity-of/) [Joris-Karl Huysmans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joris-karl-huysmans/) > [Each one of us, in his timidity, has a limit beyond which he is outraged. It is inevitable that he who by concentrated application…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/man-ray/each-one-of-us-in-his-timidity-has-a-limit-beyond-which-he-is/) [Man Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/man-ray/) > [Let us rise in the moral power of womanhood; and give utterance to the voice of outraged mercy, and insulted justice, and eternal truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-weston-chapman/let-us-rise-in-the-moral-power-of-womanhood-and-give-utterance-to-the/) [Maria Weston Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-weston-chapman/) > [Despite one or two minority appeals our society is not outraged at man's unremitting use of the animal world. Ecologists and environmentalists may talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/despite-one-or-two-minority-appeals-our-society-is-not-outraged-at/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [For me, comedy starts as a spew, a kind of explosion, and then you sculpt it from there, if at all. It comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/for-me-comedy-starts-as-a-spew-a-kind-of-explosion-and-then-you/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [“Wow. My feminist sensibilities are outraged,” she murmured. “Yeah? I’ll outrage them like they’ve never been outraged before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-mckenna/wow-my-feminist-sensibilities-are-outraged-she-murmured-yeah-i-ll/) [Shannon McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-mckenna/) > [An empty canvas, apparently really empty, that says nothing and is without significance – almost dull, in fact – in reality, is crammed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/an-empty-canvas-apparently-really-empty-that-says-nothing-and-is/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [During his presidency, Truman and the Republicans were locked in a series of furious assaults on each other that outraged him and made Truman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/during-his-presidency-truman-and-the-republicans-were-locked-in-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Amelia Barr > [When a man has calamity upon calamity the world generally concludes that he must be a very wicked man to deserve them. Perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/when-a-man-has-calamity-upon-calamity-the-world-generally-concludes/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [... the evil that comes out of your lips, into your own bosom will fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/the-evil-that-comes-out-of-your-lips-into-your-own-bosom-will-fall/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [Men can bear all things but good days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/men-can-bear-all-things-but-good-days/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [Whatever the scientists may say, if we take the supernatural out of life, we leave only the unnatural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/whatever-the-scientists-may-say-if-we-take-the-supernatural-out-of/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [I have seen that every one forgives much in themselves that they find unpardonable in other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/i-have-seen-that-every-one-forgives-much-in-themselves-that-they-find/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [That is the great mistake about the affections. It is not the rise and fall of empires, the birth and death of kings, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/that-is-the-great-mistake-about-the-affections-it-is-not-the-rise-and/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [No man was ever ruined from without; the final ruin comes from within, when you turn hopeless and lose courage!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/no-man-was-ever-ruined-from-without-the-final-ruin-comes-from-within/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [... money trials are not the hardest, and somehow or other, they are always overcome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/money-trials-are-not-the-hardest-and-somehow-or-other-they-are-always/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/all-changes-are-more-or-less-tinged-with-melancholy-for-what-we-are/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [The first step is what I like to be sure of ... to the second step it often binds you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/the-first-step-is-what-i-like-to-be-sure-of-to-the-second-step-it/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [... though mathematics may teach a man how to build a bridge, it is what the Scotch Universities call the humanities, that teach him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/though-mathematics-may-teach-a-man-how-to-build-a-bridge-it-is-what/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [if a thing is to be done, there is no time like the hour that has not struck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/if-a-thing-is-to-be-done-there-is-no-time-like-the-hour-that-has-not/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/the-great-difference-between-voyages-rests-not-with-the-ships-but/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [the fruit of life is experience, not happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/the-fruit-of-life-is-experience-not-happiness/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [politicians ... turn patriotism into shopkeeping and their own interest - men who care far more for who governs us than for how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/politicians-turn-patriotism-into-shopkeeping-and-their-own-interest/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) [Explore all 69 Amelia Barr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Truth can be outraged by silence quite as cruelly as by speech.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amelia Barr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-as-cruelly-as-by-speech/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-as-cruelly-as-by-speech/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/amelia-barr-9924_communication_truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-a_1491180.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/amelia-barr-9924_communication_truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-a_1491180.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f62/amelia-barr-9924_communication_truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-a_1491180.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Truth can be outraged by silence quite as cruelly as by speech.” — Amelia Barr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amelia Barr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Truth can be outraged by silence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-as-cruelly-as-by-speech/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/truth-can-be-outraged-by-silence-quite-as-cruelly-as-by-speech/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```