vanquish
Americanverb (used with object)
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vanquishes,
present (3rd person singular)
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vanquished,
past participle, past
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vanquishing
present participle
verb
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to defeat or overcome in a battle, contest, etc; conquer
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to defeat or overcome in argument or debate
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to conquer (an emotion)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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vanquishernoun
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vanquishmentnoun
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unvanquishableadjective
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unvanquishedadjective
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unvanquishingadjective
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vanquishableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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vanquishsimple
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vanquishessimple
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have vanquishedperfect
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has vanquishedperfect
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am vanquishingprogressive
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are vanquishingprogressive
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is vanquishingprogressive
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have been vanquishingperfect progressive
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has been vanquishingperfect progressive
Past
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vanquishedsimple
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had vanquishedperfect
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was vanquishingprogressive
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were vanquishingprogressive
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had been vanquishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of vanquish
1300–50; Middle English vencuschen, venquisshen < Old French vencus past participle and venquis past tense of veintre < Latin vincere to overcome
Explanation
To vanquish is to be the complete and total winner, to overpower and overcome, whether in a contest, a race, or a war. It generally suggests a total trouncing, to the point of humiliation — or worse — for the loser. Sometimes words for the same thing are effective in different ways because they offer different levels of meaning. For example, in a game, you can simply win, or you can vanquish your opponent. The former is enough, but the latter makes that defeat sound so much worse, like a total rout. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once stated, "Against war it may be said that it makes the victor stupid and the vanquished revengeful."
Vocabulary lists containing vanquish
Grade 10, List 1
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Warsh has vowed the Fed will vanquish inflation and meet its 2% goal, but Wall Street investors have grown more doubtful.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
There is a problem, though, and it comes from the unlikelihood that OpenAI or Anthropic will ever vanquish the other.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2026
The sleepy town of Hawkins is under quarantine as the show’s heroes search for a way to find and vanquish the baddie Vecna.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
You’ll root for the characters to vanquish him only because then the drudgery might finally end.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
At the moment, the only victory he wanted was to vanquish an ice-cold drink and maybe some nachos.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
But then I hear Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton mewl, and I’m suddenly hoping alongside Anita that someone vanquishes their foes with an unassailable vision.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026
For instance, in one scene in the Depardieu film, Cyrano duels and vanquishes a vicomte who insults his nose.
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2022
Think climatic movie scene in which a hero finally vanquishes the villain.
From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2021
The verse in Crimp’s woos and vanquishes just as seductively, though the leaner verse couples of rap battles and poetry slams.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 13, 2020
Encouraged by St. Columba in a vision, Oswald with a small force vanquishes the hosts of Cadwallon, who is slain.
From Legends of the Saxon Saints by Aubrey De Vere
It was the Hufflepuff who, with the help of passengers, vanquished the dementor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Racial discrimination has by no means been vanquished from the U.S., and no decent person wants to see race relations return to what they were 70 years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
A mystery not long ago, San Antonio’s star from France has conquered the NBA and vanquished its defending champion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026
The diet culture of the ’90s was never totally vanquished, and Ozempic has complicated narratives about body size, health, and self-love, to put it mildly.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2026
Instead, in the by-now familiar hegemonic pattern, they tried to force the rulers of the vanquished state to become their vassals.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Moments after vanquishing Conner, the Mighty Mary crew learned that Koch had agreed to a three-way deal with Conner and a third yacht syndicate, Young America, to slide all three teams to the final.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
However, once Hernán Cortés triumphed, the conquistadors went from waging war — vanquishing the Aztecs — to the project of subjugating Indigenous holdouts and building a self-sustaining territory loyal to the crown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
The work represents "the vanquishing of nuclear war through the historic treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States", according to the UN website.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2025
The combination of easing inflation and sturdy hiring and GDP growth has raised hopes the Fed can pull off a rare “soft landing” — vanquishing inflation without causing a recession.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2024
He committed the United States to vanquishing the dictators who would deprive others of their freedom.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
