quench

One entry found for quench.

Main Entry: quench
Pronunciation: 'kwench
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English -cwencan; akin to Old English -cwincan to vanish, Old Frisian quinka
transitive verb
1 a : PUT OUT, EXTINGUISH b : to put out the light or fire of <quench glowing coals with water> c : to cool (as heated metal) suddenly by immersion (as in oil or water) d : to cause to lose heat or warmth <you have quenched the warmth of France toward you -- Alfred Tennyson>
2 a : to bring (something immaterial) to an end typically by satisfying, damping, cooling, or decreasing <a rational understanding of the laws of nature can quench impossible desires -- Lucius Garvin> <the praise that quenches all desire to read the book -- T. S. Eliot> b : to terminate by or as if by destroying : ELIMINATE <the Commonwealth party quenched a whole generation of play-acting -- Margery Bailey> <quench a rebellion> c : to relieve or satisfy with liquid <quenched his thirst at a wayside spring>
intransitive verb
1 : to become extinguished : COOL
2 : to become calm : SUBSIDE
- quench·able /'kwen-ch&-b&l/ adjective
- quench·er noun
- quench·less /'kwench-l&s/ adjective