quell

play

verb \ ˈkwel \

Definition of quell

transitive verb

1 :to thoroughly overwhelm and reduce to submission or passivity

quell a riot

2 :quiet, pacify

quell fears

—

queller

noun

See quell defined for English-language learners

See quell defined for kids

Examples of quell in a Sentence

the National Guard was called in to help quell the late-night disturbances downtown
the principal held up her hand to quell the students so they could hear the urgent announcement

Recent Examples of quell from the Web

Sunday’s comments probably won’t quell those murmurings.

— benjamin hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Rex Tillerson Won’t Say If Trump ‘Speaks For American Values’," 27 Aug. 2017
McAuliffe declared a state of emergency to give local authorities more resources to quell the disturbance.

— gabe cavallaro, The Courier-Journal, "1 dead, 19 injured as car hits crowd after a 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville," 12 Aug. 2017
The announcement quells concerns that were rising from pockets of the fanbase that Koch might move on Cincinnati after the success he's achieved so far in 2017.

— patrick brennan, Cincinnati.com, "FC Cincinnati extends Alan Koch's contract," 3 Aug. 2017
In-n-Out Project Manager Katie Sanchez quelled any concerns about queues impacting traffic.

— karen pearlman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Hilton headed for El Cajon, In-N-Out also part of big plan," 17 July 2017
Any doubts that HBO had about Westworld’s stature ought to have been quelled by the raft of nominations the show scored today.

— vanityfair.com, "2017 Emmy Nominations: This Year’s Biggest Snubs and Surprises," 13 July 2017
But there were enough patronage workers within the Conservative party’s ranks to quell the coup.

— frank scaturro, National Review, "How a Political Machine Crushes Conservatism — and Democracy," 13 July 2017
The neutral hoe cakes do little to quell the burn from this sauce duo, which threatens to overpower.

— lindsey mcclave, The Courier-Journal, "LouVino Douglass Hills is good, but not living up to full potential | Review," 12 July 2017
The number of prescriptions for opioids written by health care providers declined between 2012 and 2015, the government reported Thursday, introducing a glimmer of progress in efforts to quell the worst drug epidemic in U.S. history.

— lenny bernstein, chicagotribune.com, "Opioid prescriptions dropped for the first time in the modern drug crisis," 7 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'quell.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of quell

Middle English, to kill, quell, from Old English cwellan to kill; akin to Old High German quellen to torture, kill, quāla torment, Lithuanian gelti to hurt

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year