squelch

[ skwelch ]

/ skwɛltʃ /

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See synonyms for: squelch / squelched / squelches on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to strike or press with crushing force; crush down; squash.

to put down, suppress, or silence, as with a crushing retort or argument.

verb (used without object)

to make a splashing sound.

to tread heavily in water, mud, wet shoes, etc., with such a sound.

noun

a squelched or crushed mass of anything.

a splashing sound.

an act of squelching or suppressing, as by a crushing retort or argument.

Also called squelch circuit, noise suppressor. Electronics. a circuit in a receiver, as a radio receiver, that automatically reduces or eliminates noise when the receiver is tuned to a frequency at which virtually no carrier wave occurs.

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Origin of squelch

1610–20; variant of quelch in same sense (perhaps blend of quell and quash); initial s perhaps from squash¹

OTHER WORDS FROM squelch

squelcher, nounsquelch·ing·ly, adverbsquelch·ing·ness, nounun·squelched, adjective

Words nearby squelch

squeeze off, squeeze play, squeeze through, squeezy, squeg, squelch, squeteague, squib, Squibb, squib kick, squid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use squelch in a sentence

Even so, AEI is mostly a bystander as Republicans fight among themselves to squelch the Tea Party grassroots.
D.C.’s Conservative Guru Finds His Inner Hippie|Eleanor Clift|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Attempting to squelch political speech by calling it hate speech only makes Israel look weaker.
Once Again, the Anti-Defamation League Defames|Jay Michaelson|October 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yes, the party wants to squelch cultural expressions that threaten its own continuity and survival.
China’s Next Big Export: Creativity and Culture|Ken Miller|November 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
In attempting to squelch the protests, government forces killed six people on March 18 and more four days later.
What's Happening in Syria? 6 Key Questions|David A. Graham|March 25, 2011|DAILY BEAST

But will the intervention help squelch an escalating conflict?
Libya: Do No-Fly Zones Work?|Rob Verger|March 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A bulky object fell with a heavy squelch in the middle of the street, a few yards from us.
Lilith|George MacDonald
I don't think that you can discover that Douglas ever talked of going to Virginia to "squelch" out that idea there.
The Papers And Writings Of Abraham Lincoln, Volume Five|Abraham Lincoln
The thing must be squelched, and the only way to squelch it, when they fired they must fire to kill.
Report of the Committee Appointed to Investigate the Railroad Riots in July, 1877|Various
Wellington felt called upon to squelch him: "You Englishmen never had a real tub till we Americans sold 'em to you."
Excuse Me!|Rupert Hughes
And there were always a sufficient number of good fellows around to squelch anybody who tried to interfere with my efficiency.
The Pride of Palomar|Peter B. Kyne

British Dictionary definitions for squelch

squelch

/ (skwɛltʃ) /

verb

(intr) to walk laboriously through soft wet material or with wet shoes, making a sucking noise

(intr) to make such a noise

(tr) to crush completely; squash

(tr) informal to silence, as by a crushing retort

noun

a squelching sound

something that has been squelched

electronics a circuit that cuts off the audio-frequency amplifier of a radio receiver in the absence of an input signal, in order to suppress background noise

informal a crushing remark

Derived forms of squelch

squelcher, nounsquelching, adjectivesquelchy, adjective

Word Origin for squelch

C17: of imitative origin

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

squelch

Origin of squelch

OTHER WORDS FROM squelch

Words nearby squelch

Words related to squelch

How to use squelch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for squelch

Derived forms of squelch

Word Origin for squelch