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quench

[ kwench ]
/ kwɛntʃ /
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See synonyms for: quench / quenched / quenches on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
to slake, satisfy, or allay (thirst, desires, passion, etc.).
to put out or extinguish (fire, flames, etc.).
to cool suddenly by plunging into a liquid, as in tempering steel by immersion in water.
to subdue or destroy; overcome; quell: to quench an uprising.
Electronics. to terminate (the flow of electrons in a vacuum tube) by application of a voltage.
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Origin of quench

1150–1200; Middle English quenchen, earlier cwenken; compare Old English -cwencan in ācwencan to quench (cf. a-3)

OTHER WORDS FROM quench

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to quench

dampen, douse, quash, quell, snuff out, suppress, allay, alleviate, appease, assuage, sate, satiate, slake, annihilate, check, choke, crush, decimate, demolish, destruct

How to use quench in a sentence

  • Stop it, ye Constitutional Patriots; fire itself is quenchable, yet only quenchable at first!

    The French Revolution|Thomas Carlyle

British Dictionary definitions for quench

quench
/ (kwɛntʃ) /
verb (tr)
to satisfy (one's thirst, desires, etc); slake
to put out (a fire, flame, etc); extinguish
to put down or quell; suppressto quench a rebellion
to cool (hot metal) by plunging it into cold water
physics to reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance
electronics
  1. to suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit
  2. to suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device

Derived forms of quench

quenchable, adjectivequencher, nounquenchless, adjective

Word Origin for quench

Old English ācwencan to extinguish; related to Old Frisian quinka to vanish
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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