When A Woman Goes Silent On You: 21 Reasons & What To Do (2024)

Are you wondering what it means when a woman goes silent on you? Would you like to know what to do when you haven’t heard from your crush in a while? This guide will reveal the answers.

When A Woman Goes Silent On You
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In my role as a life coach, I am often helping clients make better connections with the people closest to them. 

That’s why I’m keen to share this guide with you.

So, let’s dive in.

When Someone Goes Silent What Does It Mean?

As a guy especially, you might be tempted to brush it off and tell yourself: “Eh, it’s probably nothing”.

The truth is: if someone has drastically changed their speed of communication with you, it’s because something has changed within them.

We’ll take a look at what that might be below. 

When A Girl Goes Silent On A Guy

In this guide, we’ll focus on what happens when a woman goes silent on a man while they were developing a romantic connection.

“When A Woman Goes Silent, It Is Her Loudest Cry”

This is a commonly-used quote, mostly to inform guys that they messed up if their crush goes silent.

This isn’t always the case. However, it’s true that guys will need to change something if they want the conversation to get back on track. 

What Does A Girl Silence Mean?

Let’s explore 21 possible reasons why a girl might suddenly go silent on you.

A Girl Silence
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1. She’s Angry

You’ve done something to anger her and now she doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. 

2. She’s Hurt

You’ve hurt her feelings so she doesn’t want to talk to you right now.

3. She’s Met Someone Else

If she’s excited about another man, she might stop talking to all the other guys who were on the scene.

4. She’s Playing Hard To Get

Could it be that she’s giving you the cold shoulder to make you want her more? Some women think it’s necessary to play mind games and give you the silent treatment, even when they really want to talk to you. Essentially, she wants you to think she’s busy on an epic night out, or to  worry that she’s talking to some other guy.  

As frustrating as this is for a guy, it’s actually the most favorable scenario. 

5. She Forgot About You

If she was never that into you, it’s possible she didn’t notice your message and has now  completely forgotten about you.

6. Your Last Text Didn’t Excite Her

If she’s not that into you and your last text didn’t entertain her enough, she’ll respond with silence.

7. She’s Not Bored Anymore

It’s possible she was bored when originally talking with you. In such a situation, once she’s no longer bored, she would have no reason to answer your messages anymore.

8. You Invited Her Somewhere She Didn’t Want To Go

If you invited a woman out and she doesn’t want to go, she might ignore the text rather than respond to say no. She’ll usually do this to avoid a fight or to stop you suggesting some other date. You can take her silence as a sign she doesn’t want to meet you in-person ever.  

9. She’s Tired

It’s possible she’s too exhausted to summon the effort to reply to you.

10. She’s Busy

If she’s too busy to craft a detailed response, she might ignore your text until later.

11. She’s Overthinking

If she’s thinking of the perfect response, you might have to sit through the silent treatment for a while.

12. She Lost Her Phone

It’s possible her phone is lost or stolen. 

13. Her Phone Is Broken

Could she have dropped her phone on the floor or in the toilet? It’s a possibility.

14. She’s Recovering From A Tragedy

If she’s dealing with bad news, she might put all her text conversations on hold until she’s pulled her emotions together.

15. She Was Banned From The Messaging App

If she broke the terms of the app, she might be banned from using it. This is more likely if you’re talking on a dating app or a social media platform.

16. She’s Testing To See If You Really Care

When a woman isn’t sure about your intentions, she might ignore your messages to see how hard you try to get back in touch. 

17. She’s Taking A Digital Detox

She might be taking a break from technology. Over-using it can be tough on your mental health, after all.

18. She’s Made Up With Her Boyfriend 

It might be that she reached out to you while she was going through some relationship problems. In such a case, she would usually cut all contact with other men after the relationship was back on track.

19. She Can’t Express Her Feelings

If a woman feels misunderstood and can’t think of the words to say, she might give up on the conversation altogether. This is more common if she’s trying to deal with anger or hurt feelings.

20. She’s Punishing You

It could be that she’s not angry or upset, but does want to punish you for the stupid stuff you said or did. Essentially, she’s ghosting you to make a point and get revenge. 

21. She Wants The Upper Hand 

Some women gain a sense of self-esteem from ignoring the men who want them. For these women, it feels good to ghost men and watch them react. Go figure!

It’s a silly validation game that makes immature women feel powerful. Perhaps she wants more power from you.

Related Content: The INFINITE Power Of Silence After A Breakup  

What To Do When A Girl Goes Silent On You?

As you can hopefully now see, there are a lot of reasons why a woman might give you the silent treatment. So, what can you do to turn things around? 

A Girl Goes Silent
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What To Do When She Goes Silent On You?

The correct way to meet silence will depend on your relationship to the woman and how much she likes you. If she was never that into you, there may be no way to save this sinking ship. 

Below, we’ll explore two effective solutions; one for a single woman and another for a woman you’re in a deeper relationship with.

When A Single Women Goes Silent

When a single woman really likes you, she’ll rarely go silent on you. In fact, she’ll usually be the one to fight for your attention. 

If she does go silent, it’s usually because she’s not that excited about meeting for a date yet.

The most important thing to remember is: be patient. Sometimes, a woman genuinely is away from her phone. Unless you have plans to meet on this day, give her at least 24 hours to respond.

If you’re messaging several times per day without reply, you come across as desperate for her attention. It’s far better to come across as a busy person with such an exciting life that he forgot he never heard back from her.  

You might feel the urge to ping her with a one-word message like “Hello?” But it’s better to let the conversation die and to start a new one in a couple of days.

She might break the silence during this time. If she doesn’t, send her a cool photo or video of the cool stuff you’ve been up to. Ideally, something that says “I saw this and thought of you”. Send that message without asking any question to her. 

This subtly communicates that you’re a busy person with an exciting life who doesn’t need her to have a good time. She’ll respond far better to messages like those than to those where you’re actively trying to fight her attention.

No matter how much you hate silence from a girl, don’t start threatening to block her or end the relationship if she doesn’t text you back. Don’t spam her with abusive words. This won’t teach her a lesson, nor will it inspire her to relaunch the conversation. There’s no good that comes from this. 

Related: Psychology Behind Cutting Someone Off: 15 Insights

When A Woman Goes Silent In A Relationship

If a woman goes silent in a relationship for an extended period, it’s usually because you hurt her feelings.

Here, the best path forward is to try and figure out what you did wrong.

Send her a message to say you’re worried because she hasn’t responded in a while. Tell her you’ll give her some space until she’s ready to talk about it, but that you hope she’ll be in touch  soon. 

Be ready with a genuine apology if it turns out you did hurt her feelings. 

Frequently Asked Questions About When A Woman Goes Silent On You

Let’s round off this guide with the answers to some frequently asked questions about the silent treatment.

What Happens When You Go Silent On A Man? 

Let’s simplify things and explore what will usually happen when you go silent on a man.

  • If he cares about you, he’ll try and get in touch again. 
  • If he doesn’t care, he’ll leave you alone until you contact him. 

Indeed, the silent treatment is a good barometer of how much a man cares, even if it isn’t the most mature.

How Long Should You Wait To Double-Text A Woman?

There’s no hard and fast rule, but 24 hours is a fair amount of time to assume you’ve been ignored or forgotten about. So, wait at least this long before sending another message.  

Why Is A Silent Woman Dangerous?

These words are more true in memes and Instagram captions than real life. The idea is: a woman’s silence means she’s contemplating some sort of revenge. In reality though, she’s either sad, upset or apathetic. 

A shouting and screaming woman seething with anger is surely far more dangerous. 

Any More Questions About When A Woman Goes Silent On You?  

Thanks for reading my guide on the silent treatment from a woman. I hope you’re now clued up about what a woman’s silence means and how to deal with it. 

Ghosting might make you want to smash your head into a brick wall, but stay strong. The majority of women appear to think there’s nothing wrong with it. As a man, it’s up to you to figure out how to react. That’s if you think she’s worth the effort, of course. 

If you have a question to ask or a point to make on this topic, feel free to leave it in the comments below. 

Your opinions matter – and it would mean the world to hear from you. 

About The Author

Bijan Kholghi is a certified life coach with the Milton Erickson Institute Heidelberg (Germany). He helps clients and couples reach breakthroughs in their lives by changing subconscious patterns. His solution-oriented approach is based on Systemic- and Hypnotherapy.

Bijan