Silent treatment

I've never believed in it. It's one of the most hurtful things (potentially hurtful, at least) you can do to someone. From Psychology Today:

Basically, the silent treatment is a passive-aggressive behavior by which an abuser communicates some sort of negative message to the intended victim that only the perpetrator and the victim recognize through nonverbal communication. It can be explicit or subtle, in private or public, recognizable by others or not, and usually coexists with other forms of abuse.

Read the entire article here.