quell
verb /kwel/
/kwel/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they quell | /kwel/ /kwel/ |
| he / she / it quells | /kwelz/ /kwelz/ |
| past simple quelled | /kweld/ /kweld/ |
| past participle quelled | /kweld/ /kweld/ |
| -ing form quelling | /ˈkwelɪŋ/ /ˈkwelɪŋ/ |
- quell something/somebody to stop something such as violent behaviour or protests
- Extra police were called in to quell the disturbances.
- (figurative) She started to giggle, but Bob quelled her with a look.
Extra Examples- As the looting intensified, the president vowed to quell the violence by any means necessary.
- Riot police were needed to quell pitch invasions.
- The rising was swiftly quelled by loyal troops.
- quell something to stop or reduce strong or unpleasant feelings synonym calm
- to quell your fears
Word OriginOld English cwellan ‘kill’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch kwellen and German quälen.