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There are two quash verbs in the English language, and although their meanings are similar, they have entirely different origins. Both essentially mean to get rid of something—you can quash a rumor, for example, or you can quash a judicial order. The legal term quash (meaning "to nullify") comes from the Anglo-French words casser or quasser, meaning "to annul," and is ultimately from Latin cassus, "to void." The other quash means "to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely." It derives from the Middle English word quashen, meaning "to smash," and is ultimately from a form of the Latin verb quatere, meaning "to shake."
Examples of quash in a Sentence
Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Ninety-two years on, however, there are facets of the magazine that have unequivocally improved, and absurdities that have, thank heaven, been quashed.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Media reports in February that President Donald Trump would attend the 80th anniversary were quashed by denials from both the U.S. and the Kremlin.
—Brendan Cole
yevgeny Kuklychev, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
Based on his 45 years of experience with appellate law, Wice said, the typical motion to quash is not successful.
—Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quash
Cite this Entry
“Quash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quash. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quash
2 of 2 verbVerb
Middle English quashen "to smash," from early French quasser, casser (same meaning), from Latin quassare "to shake violently, shatter," from quatere "to shake"
Verb
Middle English quashen "to nullify," from early French casser, quasser "to annul," from Latin cassare (same meaning), from earlier Latin cassus "void"
Legal Definition
quash
transitive verbTransitive verb
Anglo-French quasser, from Middle French casser, quasser, from Late Latin cassare, from Latin cassus void
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