Social media site Twitter is to allow its users to mute keywords in an effort to curb cyberbullying.

The new feature will be rolled out in the coming days.

Presently, the 'mute' feature allows people to silence accounts they do not want to see Tweets from.

Now Twitter is expanding it to notifications - enabling people to mute keywords, phrases, and even entire conversations.

"This is a feature we’ve heard many of you ask for, and we’re going to keep listening to make it better and more comprehensive over time", the site says.

"The amount of abuse, bullying, and harassment we’ve seen across the Internet has risen sharply over the past few years.

"These behaviours inhibit people from participating on Twitter, or anywhere.

"Abusive conduct removes the chance to see and share all perspectives around an issue, which we believe is critical to moving us all forward.

"In the worst cases, this type of conduct threatens human dignity, which we should all stand together to protect."

Twitter policy prohibits specific conduct that targets people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease.

It is also to give a more direct way to report this type of conduct for users themselves, or for others.