It can't be passed in silence (4)

I believe the answer is:

oral

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'it can't be passed in silence' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

This is all the clue.

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(Other definitions for oral that I've seen before include "Spoken test" , "Relating to speech" , "Related to the mouth" , "Like some tradition" , "Kind of exam" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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