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
David Schutz, Sun Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2025
America’s military establishment tried to quell the outrage with a piece in Harper’s by Henry Stimson, a retired Secretary of War.
—Jane Mayer, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2025
And while the company's Reality Labs unit continues bleeding money, posting an operating loss of $4.53 billion in the second quarter, the surprise hit of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses seems to have quelled investor discontent for the time being.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 31 July 2025
Amid an international effort to quell the conflict, the Thai and Cambodian leaders held talks in Malaysia hosted by its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, where both sides agreed to halt hostilities and resume direct communications.
—Reuters, NBC news, 28 July 2025
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 system is expected to hook around a large plume of African dust that has been quelling hurricane development for the past several weeks, Fox Weather Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross wrote on his blog, Hurricane Intel.
—David Schutz, Sun Sentinel, 4 Aug. 2025
America’s military establishment tried to quell the outrage with a piece in Harper’s by Henry Stimson, a retired Secretary of War.
—Jane Mayer, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2025
And while the company's Reality Labs unit continues bleeding money, posting an operating loss of $4.53 billion in the second quarter, the surprise hit of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses seems to have quelled investor discontent for the time being.
—Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 31 July 2025
Amid an international effort to quell the conflict, the Thai and Cambodian leaders held talks in Malaysia hosted by its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the current chair of the ASEAN regional bloc, where both sides agreed to halt hostilities and resume direct communications.
—Reuters, NBC news, 28 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for quell
Cite this Entry
“Quell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quell. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share