quell
Americanverb (used with object)
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quells,
present (3rd person singular)
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quelled,
past participle, past
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quelling
present participle
verb
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to suppress or beat down (rebellion, disorder, etc); subdue
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to overcome or allay
to quell pain
to quell grief
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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quellsimple
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quellssimple
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have quelledperfect
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has quelledperfect
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am quellingprogressive
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are quellingprogressive
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is quellingprogressive
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have been quellingperfect progressive
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has been quellingperfect progressive
Past
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quelledsimple
-
had quelledperfect
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was quellingprogressive
-
were quellingprogressive
-
had been quellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of quell
First recorded before 900; Middle English quellen, Old English cwellan “to kill”; akin to Old Norse kvelja “to torment,” German quälen “to vex”; cf. kill 1
Explanation
Meaning to suppress or overcome, quell is what you have to do with nerves before a big test and fears before going skydiving. When it first came into existence, the verb quell actually meant “to murder.” That's a bit more serious than our modern definition, but you can use that old definition to help you imagine offing your worries or putting a permanent end to criticism. These days quell is often used to mean "pacify," as in the police quelling an angry mob or a mom quelling a kid's temper tantrum.
Vocabulary lists containing quell
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 2
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 7–11
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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:
The Spanish government on Tuesday declassified intelligence reports about July's migrant surge into Ceuta in a bid to quell doubts about what it knew beforehand and Morocco's potential role.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
Good Good and Callaway removed the video and issued several apologies, but they couldn’t quell the blowback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is to love someone from afar, and support them from afar, and quell those feelings of anger and/or confusion that may come up from time to time.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
That certainly doesn’t quell his competitive nature, however, and he’ll have more than one chance in his current role to see brother Christian up close.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Unfortunately for me and Eliza, her befriending me meant being iced out by Mariel and Dagmara, so her entrance onto the team did nothing to quell my discomfort.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Speedman scans the perimeter as he considers his options and quickly quells any potential for this fictional L.A. spinoff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2024
This interchange is how the brain quells, for instance, the knee-jerk use of rude language with the understanding that such responses can cause offense.
From Scientific American ● May 26, 2023
There is a history of federal courts finding that jurors’ names are public record, and reasoning that such openness quells potential public suspicions about the selection process.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 23, 2023
Strict conformity quells confusion and keeps everyone focused on the work.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2023
It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Paz quelled the unrest in June by declaring a state of emergency.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
U.S. stocks rose as another drop in oil prices and tepid economic data quelled inflation concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Microsoft posted a record $450 billion one-day surge in market value after its earnings quelled concerns that investments on data centers, chips and more would outpace the company’s ability to generate cash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
However a well-worked try from Jess Breach, the sin-binning of France's replacement scrum-half Alexandra Chambon and a strong performance by England's replacements quelled the danger.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Discipline prevailed: in five minutes the confused throng was resolved into order, and comparative silence quelled the Babel clamour of tongues.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
The meeting bought Infantino some peace by quelling the revolt inside his own offices, but his long-term fate still resides with the 211 member associations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
But instead of quelling the speculation, the video fueled a new wave of unfounded theories.
From Barron's ● Apr. 2, 2026
Cipriani’s suit alleges Shell was desperate for help in quelling negative stories about him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2026
It is alleged that in his role, the man led a group tasked with quelling demonstrations in the suburbs of Damascus.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
Instead of quelling the laughter of the two men who sat with him, it merely increased it.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
