quash
Americanverb (used with object)
-
quashes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
quashed,
past participle, past
-
quashing
present participle
verb
-
to subdue forcefully and completely; put down; suppress
-
to annul or make void (a law, decision, etc)
-
to reject (an indictment, writ, etc) as invalid
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
quashsimple
-
quashessimple
-
have quashedperfect
-
has quashedperfect
-
am quashingprogressive
-
are quashingprogressive
-
is quashingprogressive
-
have been quashingperfect progressive
-
has been quashingperfect progressive
Past
-
quashedsimple
-
had quashedperfect
-
was quashingprogressive
-
were quashingprogressive
-
had been quashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quash
1300–50; Middle English quashen to smash, break, overcome, suppress < Old French quasser, in part < Latin quassāre to shake (frequentative of quatere to shake; cf. concussion); in part < Late Latin cassāre to annul, derivative of Latin cassus empty, void
Explanation
Quash means to put down, stop, extinguish, and it’s usually used to talk about ideas, feelings, or political movements. You wouldn’t quash a grape underfoot; you would squash it. But if you were a military dictator, you would quash a revolution. Quash is an extreme word. It comes from the French word for smash, or shatter. If something is quashed it is completely suppressed, usually by something or someone very powerful or authoritative. If you wrote a poem and asked your favorite teacher to read it, and that teacher tore it to pieces, then your hopes were most likely quashed.
Vocabulary lists containing quash
40 SAT words Beginning with "Q"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Change Your Mind
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Scrabble: Words that Begin with Q
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
It was a deceptively idyllic setting for what authorities say is continued lawbreaking and peril, which authorities just can’t seem to quash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The High Court was told on Tuesday that the commission conceded the case last week and requested the court quash its determination before a full hearing.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
On Wednesday, Patterson's lawyers urged the judges to quash her conviction.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Murrill is now using that discredited plea deal against Brooks, just as she did in Duncan’s case, in an attempt to quash his compensation claim.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
More than that, I had proof that he was sincere in his efforts to quash bullying.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
LinkedIn says it quashes more than 200,000 AI-generated spam comments every day before they go live.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
This quashes the convictions of sub-postmasters convicted in the Horizon scandal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
Many officers have described to me problems that include “kill the messenger” management that quashes bad news, as well as dangerous supervision lapses, watered-down policing standards and policing-knowledge gaps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2024
Critics maintain that it reinforces privilege and quashes diversity.
From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
Which expression, translated into English means, he quashes it.
From The Book of Khalid by Ameen Fares Rihani
The issue was revived in August when the High Court quashed the commission's latest restriction because of procedural failings, without ruling that the Order had a right to march along Garvaghy Road.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson quashed the Dodgers’ offense, giving up just three hits and one run over seven innings, to give the Brewers a 6-2 win in front of an announced crowd of 45,828.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
A previous order by former minister Edwin Poots for a cull of badgers was quashed by the High Court.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
But in October last year the Supreme Court quashed that argument, saying that any such cash likely stemmed from illegal bribes and therefore should not be counted.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
The feds cut a deal with Morrison: in return for getting his arrest warrant for assault quashed, he would work as an informant on the Osage murder cases.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Baroness Casey said, one year on, the government had made "huge progress in many areas" but on the issue of quashing the convictions of child sexual exploitation victims, "they haven't gone far enough, quickly enough".
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
A federal judge denied the Department of Justice’s motion to vacate an order quashing subpoenas, citing harassment of former Fed chair Jerome Powell.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Most important, she outmaneuvered the Texas judge by quashing the subpoena itself, finding that it was an illegitimate and unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
For decades, corporate executives have been quashing workers’ efforts to gain a fair reward for their labor.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026
The only hope he entertained of checking this exodus was by quashing the indictments for treason which had been found against the Mormon leaders, and by insuring them against contact with the troops.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 18, April, 1859 by Various
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.
