CRACK DOWN (ON) Synonyms: 67 Similar and Opposite Words

crack down (on)

verb

Definition of crack down (on)

as in to quell

to put a stop to (something) by the use of force a repressive government that cracked down on political demonstrations

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for crack down (on)

Verb

Hundreds of people were getting killed every year at street-level crossings, and to quell the public outcry, the railroads scrambled to elevate freight tracks citywide at their own expense.

— John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
The Season 3 finale jumps right into Daniel waking up a whole new person in Silo 1, summoned to quell the rebellion quickly going out of control in Silo 17 — Jimmy’s (Steve Zahn) home.

— Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of quell

Verb

As the President sat down to eat with the press corps, a would-be assassin stormed through a security checkpoint before being subdued by the Secret Service.

— Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
According to Tisch, Cisneros then waved her knives and began to advance on the officers, who attempted to subdue the woman with a Taser before employing lethal force.

— Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of subdue

Verb

Employers could still offer productivity bonuses calculated according to output, but those payments would have to sit on top of an hourly wage.

— Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 15 Sep. 2026
More than 3,000 solar panels now sit on the water and feed electricity to the nearby water treatment plant.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of sit on

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.

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crackbrains

crack down (on)

cracked

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“Crack down (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crack%20down%20%28on%29. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of crack down (on)

verb

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