1
as in suppressed
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
the National Guard was called in to help quell the late-night disturbances downtown
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shushed
to stop the noise or speech of
the principal held up her hand to quell the students so they could hear the urgent announcement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of quelled
But that has not quelled the far-right’s violence.
—
Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
Observers of prediction markets widely agree that insider trading worries on the platforms have to be quelled to gain institutional attention.
—Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 1 June 2026
While the emergency response quelled the threat of a violent explosion as of Monday night, 16,000 residents, largely from the city of Stanton, were still unable to return home until all evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday evening.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
Intense protests related to economic issues broke out in Iran in early 2026, but were harshly quelled.
—Alex Sundby, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Abreu quelled the inning, however, striking out Dylan Beavers and Coby Mayo swinging at sliders.
—Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2026
Anxiety quelled, the party starts back up, with Bambaataa spinning a record by James Brown.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
What could not be as easily quelled were the puns.
—ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
The shooter killed an instructor and wounded two others before the ROTC cadets attacked him and quelled the threat, showing incredible bravery in the face of danger.
—Nicole Russell, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 3 June 2026
Observers of prediction markets widely agree that insider trading worries on the platforms have to be quelled to gain institutional attention.
—Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 1 June 2026
While the emergency response quelled the threat of a violent explosion as of Monday night, 16,000 residents, largely from the city of Stanton, were still unable to return home until all evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday evening.
—Victoria Le, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
Intense protests related to economic issues broke out in Iran in early 2026, but were harshly quelled.
—Alex Sundby, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Abreu quelled the inning, however, striking out Dylan Beavers and Coby Mayo swinging at sliders.
—Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 30 Apr. 2026
Anxiety quelled, the party starts back up, with Bambaataa spinning a record by James Brown.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026
What could not be as easily quelled were the puns.
—ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
The shooter killed an instructor and wounded two others before the ROTC cadets attacked him and quelled the threat, showing incredible bravery in the face of danger.
—Nicole Russell, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quelled
Verb
-
This step suppressed hydrogen bonding between water molecules, prevented freezing, and preserved its flexibility.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
-
His puck-moving play was completely suppressed in the offensive zone, too.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
The Giants offense got shushed Wednesday night by Shohei Ohtani, and their hitters went down almost as quietly against right-hander Emmet Sheehan.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
To the point where Reid shushed him down at times.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Air WACs [Women’s Army Corps] stationed here were elated but subdued.—
Orlando Sentinel Staff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 June 2026
-
The Georgia film and TV business remains painfully subdued as summer nears.—
Rodney Ho,
AJC.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Tage Thompson momentarily quieted that Bell Centre crowd with a goal 53 seconds into the game that gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
-
So, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has quieted some rebellious voices by campaigning for aggressively redrawn congressional maps, Democrats should be aware of how dogged their opponents are willing to get.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Then the tournament started, and the pressure crushed them.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026
-
Third baseman Cooper Nicholson crushed a ball more than far enough for a home run, but just foul into the left field corner.—
Alan Cole,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
But the Spurs have silenced the crowd so far.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
11 June 2026
-
With the light nearly gone — the UMass Dartmouth field doesn’t have lights — Callahan silenced the Raiders bats one more time and this eventually led to the decision to pause the game.—
Jack Murray,
Boston Herald,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
His arrest came during a years-long crackdown on civil society and dissent, which began following mass protests in 2018 that the government violently repressed.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
-
His arrest came during a yearslong crackdown on civil society and dissent, which began following mass protests in 2018 that the government violently repressed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
My limbs stilled and grew heavy in the heat, but Alice jiggled her knees up and down, bursting out with short spurts of conversation that weighed against the beauty of our silence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Hostilities were temporarily stilled by a ceasefire, but fighting resumed in early December.—
John Vink,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quelled. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
