as in to quell
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
a repressive government that cracked down on political demonstrations
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crack down (on)
Verb
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Nor has the admission that there were performance problems done much to quell rampant speculation that the company is running short of computing resources and that Anthropic’s efforts to ration precious computing power were the real reason for the performance issues.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026 -
Over the past few months, the pending consolidation sparked many fears, which David Ellison tried to quell.—
Mandalit del Barco,
NPR,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Earlier, Britain suppressed a communist insurgency in Malaya, today part of Malaysia.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Apr. 2026
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The lawyer noted the statement could be suppressed in court if it was obtained through leading questions, a prolonged interrogation, or coercive tactics.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Two sources described the evening to Variety as subdued.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
24 Apr. 2026
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Both would like to subdue Hezbollah and transform it into a relatively normal Lebanese political party.—
Hussein Ibish,
The Atlantic,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Reupping your Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter is more of a delight than a slog, and the refills are pretty enough to sit on the shelf at Sephora or be featured in an influencer’s product flatlay.—
Kara McGrath,
Allure,
22 Apr. 2026
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There are efforts to bring a data center to Homestead, Data Center Dynamics reported, and Palm Beach County commissioners are weighing bringing a new data center that will sit on 202 acres and near an elementary school.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
22 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Crack down (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crack%20down%20%28on%29. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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