vanquish
Americanverb
-
to defeat or overcome in a battle, contest, etc; conquer
-
to defeat or overcome in argument or debate
-
to conquer (an emotion)
Other Word Forms
- unvanquishable adjective
- unvanquished adjective
- unvanquishing adjective
- vanquishable adjective
- vanquisher noun
- vanquishment noun
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
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.
What follows focuses on Martin and Lora’s daughter Josie, who forges a successful life—she goes to Harvard and starts a family—but can never vanquish her longing for her father’s return.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
Martin writes in “The Hedge Knight” that Aerion “could vanquish Ser Duncan the Tall, but not Dunk of Flea Bottom.”
From Salon • Feb. 25, 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
No actor could vanquish the memory preserved for posterity in Elia Kazan’s film.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2025
That woman had a devious mind that was only predictable when she scented an opportunity to vanquish her husband.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
