Refuse to talk or stop talking; fall silent:
— The children shut up when their father approached.

synonyms: be quiet, belt up, button up, clam up, close up, dummy up, keep mum.

Roget 261: close, occlude, plug; block up, stop up, fill up, bung up, cork up, button up, stuff up, shut up, dam up; blockade, obstruct etc. (hinder) 706; bar, bolt, stop, seal, plumb; choke, throttle; ram down, dam, cram; trap, clinch; put to the door, shut the door.    ... show more

Roget 751: restrain, check; put under restraint, lay under restraint; enthral, enthrall, inthral^†, inthrall^†, bethral^†, bethrall^†; restrict; debar etc. (hinder) 706; constrain; coerce etc. (compel) 744; curb, control; hold back, hold from, hold in, hold in check, hold within bounds, keep back, keep from, keep in, keep in check, keep within bounds; hold in leash, hold in leading strings; withhold.    keep under; repress, suppress; smother; pull in, rein in; hold, hold fast; keep a tight hand on; prohibit etc. 761; inhibit, cohibit^†.    enchain; fasten etc. (join) 43; fetter, shackle; entrammel^†; bridle, muzzle, hopple^†, gag, pinion, manacle, handcuff, tie one's hands, hobble, bind hand and foot; swathe, swaddle; pin down, tether; picket; tie down, tie up; secure; forge fetters; disable, hamstring (incapacitate) 158.    confine; shut up, shut in; clap up, lock up, box up, mew up, bottle up, cork up, seal up, button up; hem in, bolt in, wall in, rail in; impound, pen, coop; inclose etc. (circumscribe) 229; cage; incage^†, encage^†; close the door upon, cloister; imprison, immure; incarcerate, entomb; clap under hatches, lay under hatches; put in irons, put in a strait-waistcoat; throw into prison, cast into prison; put into bilboes.    arrest; take up, take charge of, take into custody; take prisoner, take captive, make prisoner, make captive; captivate; lead captive, lead into captivity; send to prison, commit to prison; commit; give in charge, give in custody; subjugate etc. 749.    ... show more

Dutch: zwijgen, dichtknopen

Place in a place where something cannot be removed or someone cannot escape.

synonyms: lock, lock away, lock in, lock up, put away, shut away.

Dutch: kop dicht

Cause to be quiet or not talk.

synonyms: hush, hush up, quieten, silence, still.

Roget 479: confute, refute, disprove; parry, negative, controvert, rebut, confound, disconfirm, redargue^†, expose, show the fallacy of, defeat; demolish, break etc. (destroy) 162; overthrow, overturn scatter to the winds, explode, invalidate; silence; put to silence, reduce to silence; clinch an argument, clinch a question; give one a setdown^†, stop the mouth, shut up; have, have on the hip.    not leave a leg to stand on, cut the ground from under one's feet.    be confuted &c.; fail; expose one's weak point, show one's weak point.    counter evidence etc. 468.    ... show more

Dutch: verzwijgen

Closely confined.

synonym: pent.