quelled; quelling; quells
1
: to thoroughly overwhelm and reduce to submission or passivity
quell a riot
queller
noun
Examples of quell in a Sentence
Verb
the National Guard was called in to help quell the late-night disturbances downtown
the principal held up her hand to quell the students so they could hear the urgent announcement
Recent Examples on the Web
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 24 Mar. 2026
Herzen’s arrest was part of a sweeping crackdown on intellectual circles following the Decembrist uprising, as the tsarist regime sought to quell dissent.
—Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Iranian officials disputed his claims of diplomatic progress and accused the president of trying to buy time and manipulate the financial and oil markets to quell mounting outrage over market instability.
—Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 24 Mar. 2026
In December, the Mouse House pledged to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and entered a three-year licensing agreement for allowing over 200 Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars characters’ likenesses to be used in Sora, quelling some of the text-to-video app’s brushups with copyright law.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for quell
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Verb
Turns out their insatiable desire for drama and noise has yet to be quelled, which means their upcoming batch of concerts will be as entrancing as ever.
—Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 24 Mar. 2026
Herzen’s arrest was part of a sweeping crackdown on intellectual circles following the Decembrist uprising, as the tsarist regime sought to quell dissent.
—Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026
Iranian officials disputed his claims of diplomatic progress and accused the president of trying to buy time and manipulate the financial and oil markets to quell mounting outrage over market instability.
—Charlene Gubash, NBC news, 24 Mar. 2026
In December, the Mouse House pledged to invest $1 billion in OpenAI and entered a three-year licensing agreement for allowing over 200 Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars characters’ likenesses to be used in Sora, quelling some of the text-to-video app’s brushups with copyright law.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for quell
Cite this Entry
“Quell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quell. Accessed 27 Mar. 2026.
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