1
as in to subdue
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
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Recent Examples of quell
Columbia and other prominent universities have come under scrutiny and had their funding cut by the Trump administration, which has accused them of not having done enough to quell last year's protests and to combat antisemitism.
—
Jonathan Dienst, NBC news, 8 May 2025
For several quarters, the video game publishers quelled concerns during about the strike’s impact on upcoming games by noting how far out most voiceover work is recorded and assuring shareholders their pipelines were long.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 5 May 2025
Druse militias responded in force, and the government sent security personnel to quell the unrest.
—Ephrat Livni, New York Times, 2 May 2025
The Trump administration has engaged in efforts to quell dissent in corporate America, the civil service, universities and the media.
—Katie Benner, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for quell
Jonathan Dienst, NBC news, 8 May 2025
For several quarters, the video game publishers quelled concerns during about the strike’s impact on upcoming games by noting how far out most voiceover work is recorded and assuring shareholders their pipelines were long.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 5 May 2025
Druse militias responded in force, and the government sent security personnel to quell the unrest.
—Ephrat Livni, New York Times, 2 May 2025
The Trump administration has engaged in efforts to quell dissent in corporate America, the civil service, universities and the media.
—Katie Benner, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for quell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quell
Verb
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Officers used a taser on the man to try to subdue him, according to Cleverdon.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
19 May 2025
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One of the investigators fired non-lethal beanbag rounds at the man to try to subdue him, but Hampson fled.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Gert laughed, too, until the two of them were shushing each other quite loudly.—
Lizz Schumer,
People.com,
3 May 2025
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One day at the Scottish Open, a volunteer held up the quiet sign and shushed the crowd as Morikawa prepared to hit from the fairway.—
Brody Miller,
The Athletic,
6 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Orwell authored 1984, a bleak vision of the future where an authoritarian regime weaponizes language to suppress independent thought and rewrite history.—
Jason Snyder,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
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However, consistent, long-term stress can wear down your immune system, exposing you to inflammation and suppressing your body's response to infections.2 UTIs occur when the urinary tract, including the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra, is infected.—
Brittany Dube,
Health,
13 May 2025
Verb
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The fearless testimony of the three survivors during this trial proves that no matter how powerful the abuser, no matter how indifferent the systems that ignore the abuse, survivors will not be silenced.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2025
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But what's new is both the effort to silence and harm the career prospects of student dissidents as well as the coordinated effort to force universities to shutter entire programs of study for fear that criticism of Israel's policies—and America's complicity with them—might escape containment.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 May 2025
Verb
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Abscisic acid kick-starts a cascade of biochemical reactions that repress cell division and growth, while gibberellin has the opposite effect.—
Katarina Zimmer,
Smithsonian Magazine,
2 May 2025
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They can be removed, added and relocated to activate certain genes and repress others.—
Viviane Callier,
Quanta Magazine,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Have all the evidentiary issues been settled? Not entirely.—
Jorge L. Ortiz,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
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Listen to this article San Diego is paying out $700,000 to settle two injury lawsuits, one involving a pedestrian in San Ysidro and another involving a motorcycle rider in northern Clairemont.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Now scientists are finding the sun’s rays could truly help to quash some autoimmune diseases.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
20 May 2025
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However, Tuesday morning seemingly saw Klopp’s representative seek to quash the rumours.—
Adam Digby,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Verb
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Throughout January and February, the neighborhood’s streets were hushed, the Latin American restaurants emptier.—
Jordan Salama,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
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But the confidence and craftsmanship invested in Crash are, ultimately, the problem, because the infuriatingly contrived screenplay and hushed seriousness conspire to produce a risible portrait of complex social issues reduced to glib plot points.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quell. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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