quell

1 of 2

verb

quelled; quelling; quells
Synonyms of quellnext

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

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
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Verb
Called to quell the laborers, the GEB used live ammunition against them. Sophia La Banca, JSTOR Daily, 11 Mar. 2026 Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed when the military quelled the protests on June 3-4, 1989. ABC News, 10 Mar. 2026 Cipriani’s suit alleges Shell was desperate for help in quelling negative stories about him. Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026 Khamenei often used the broad range of powers at his disposal to quell dissent. Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 5 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for quell

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of quell was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Quell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quell. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

quell

verb
ˈkwel
1
: to put down by force
quell a riot
2
: quiet entry 3
quell fears
queller noun

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