vanquish

verb

van·​quish ˈvaŋ-kwish How to pronounce vanquish (audio) ˈvan- How to pronounce vanquish (audio)
vanquished; vanquishing; vanquishes

transitive verb

1
: to overcome in battle : subdue completely
2
: to defeat in a conflict or contest
3
: to gain mastery over (an emotion, passion, or temptation)
vanquish your fear
vanquishable adjective
vanquisher noun
Choose the Right Synonym for vanquish

conquer, vanquish, defeat, subdue, reduce, overcome, overthrow mean to get the better of by force or strategy.

conquer implies gaining mastery of.

Caesar conquered Gaul

vanquish implies a complete overpowering.

vanquished the enemy and ended the war

defeat does not imply the finality or completeness of vanquish which it otherwise equals.

the Confederates defeated the Union forces at Manassas

subdue implies a defeating and suppression.

subdued the native tribes after years of fighting

reduce implies a forcing to capitulate or surrender.

the city was reduced after a month-long siege

overcome suggests getting the better of with difficulty or after hard struggle.

overcame a host of bureaucratic roadblocks

overthrow stresses the bringing down or destruction of existing power.

violently overthrew the old regime

Examples of vanquish in a Sentence

They were vanquished in battle. vanquished nation after nation in his relentless conquest of Europe
Recent Examples on the Web Monuments to white supremacists and Confederates that had stood for 100 years were finally vanquished from the public square. Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 This example also bears some subtle aesthetic decisions that would ruffle the feathers of the Porsche orthodox, like the deletion of rain gutters in favor of a flush roofline (gutters were vanquished with the advent of the 996 series in 1997). Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2024 The opinion is a massive victory for Trump, vanquishing one of the many legal threats that have both plagued and animated his campaign against President Joe Biden. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024 But Republicans have better friends available to them, who haven’t disgraced themselves by trying to deny the results of an election, who would be quite likely to vanquish Biden, and who would be capable presidents. The Editors, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024 Denver vanquished its 16-game losing skid to the Chiefs with a resounding Week 8 win over the Chiefs in Denver and beat the Chargers on the road for the first time since 2019. Mark Anderson, USA TODAY, 5 Jan. 2024 Researchers at Harvard and the University of Illinois at Chicago have created a new molecule that effectively vanquished multiple types of bacteria when tested in animals. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024 Mixing special attacks is an effective method to quickly vanquish enemies. George Yang, PCMAG, 7 Feb. 2024 Before suffocating a spectacular Dolphins team, Marino's best, 38-16 in the Super Bowl, the 49ers vanquished the Giants and Bears by a combined score of 44-10 in the NFC playoffs. Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vanquish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English venquishen, borrowed from Anglo-French venquis-, extended stem of veintre, vaincre "to defeat, conquer," going back to Latin vincere — more at victor

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of vanquish was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near vanquish

Cite this Entry

“Vanquish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vanquish. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

vanquish

verb
van·​quish ˈvaŋ-kwish How to pronounce vanquish (audio) ˈvan- How to pronounce vanquish (audio)
: to defeat and subdue completely
vanquisher noun

More from Merriam-Webster on vanquish

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