reduce to silence
reduce (one) to silence
To cause one to become silent, especially after being noisy or outspoken. The loud bang reduced the entire classroom to silence. I've had my vocal critics over the years, but I have faith that my next project will reduce them all to silence.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
reduce someone to silence
to cause someone to be silent. The rebuke reduced him to silence—at last. Mary was reduced to silence by Jane's comments.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.