quelled; quelling; quells
1
: to thoroughly overwhelm and reduce to submission or passivity
quell a riot
queller
noun
Examples of quell in a Sentence
Verb
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 on the Web
Sebastian Shukla, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
Such assurances are unlikely to quell the community’s decades-long experience with polluted runoff, however, and small farmers say that runoff could also present a food safety problem and threaten to set back years of organic farming practices.
—Thomas Heaton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Speakers sought to quell those concerns.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
With China restricting exports, the Australian government has tried to quell public fear to prevent panic buying.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for quell
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
The manifesto will also do little to quell claims of party connections to Russia.
—Sebastian Shukla, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026
Such assurances are unlikely to quell the community’s decades-long experience with polluted runoff, however, and small farmers say that runoff could also present a food safety problem and threaten to set back years of organic farming practices.
—Thomas Heaton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
Speakers sought to quell those concerns.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Apr. 2026
With China restricting exports, the Australian government has tried to quell public fear to prevent panic buying.
—Rebecca Schneid, Time, 5 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for quell
Cite this Entry
“Quell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quell. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
