quell

1 of 2

verb

ˈkwel 

quelled; quelling; quells

transitive verb

1

: to thoroughly overwhelm and reduce to submission or passivity

quell a riot

2

: quiet, pacify

quell fears

queller noun

quell

2 of 2

noun

1

obsolete : slaughter

2

archaic : the power of quelling

Synonyms of quell

Verb

• subdue
• suppress
• repress
• quash
• crush

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

Verb

To try to quell the crisis, the government permitted the sale of lower-grade gasoline and diesel. — Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever may have had their WNBA championship dreams quelled Thursday, but the star’s Nike Caitlin 1 signature sneaker story is just getting underway. — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026

Europe hardens on migration as nationalist support grows European countries sought to harden migration rules in a bid to quell support for nationalist parties across the continent. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Rees doesn’t fully know the makings of the narrative, but the Falcons’ previous coaching staff did little to quell it. — Daniel Flick, AJC.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

Noun

Middle English, from quellen to kill

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for quell

• bel
• belle
• cel
• cell
• dell
• dwell
• el
• ell
• fel
• fell
• gel
• gell

Kids Definition

quell

verb

ˈkwel

1

: to put down by force

quell a riot

2

: quiet entry 3

quell fears

queller noun