quelling

verb

present participle of quell
1
as in subduing
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force the National Guard was called in to help quell the late-night disturbances downtown

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shushing
to stop the noise or speech of the principal held up her hand to quell the students so they could hear the urgent announcement

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quelling There is something instructive in the agent concluding a diatribe on quelling revolutionary violence with a note about feeling inspired. — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026 The break with Callaway was the first sign that Good Good’s attempts at quelling the crisis were not going well after Clark’s statement on social media Wednesday night. — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026 As Matt Reeves is hard at work in Gotham City, James Gunn is quelling some overeager fans about the timeline of the Batman trilogy. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026 Aside from Spain’s progress in quelling the fires this week, there are still active fires in France to consider, since the particulate matter could continue drifting across large portions of its neighboring nation. — T. Michelle Murphy, Time, 29 July 2026 Other ubiquitous Chinese deities, such as the regal Jade Emperor, the faithful warrior Guan Yu, the wondrous savior Mazu, and the demon-quelling Zhong Kui, fill both the popular imagination and the stuff of Daoist ritual. — Michael Naparstek, The Conversation, 6 July 2026 The very system itself - schooling and parenting - now operates on quelling agency. — Mimosa Jones Tunney, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026 The mosquitoes came out in droves at night, just before bed, quelling our ambitions of stargazing or watching for the northern lights. — John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026 Owens, who tried to reach third, was gunned down by left fielder Brendan Brock, quelling the early threat. — Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quelling
  1. subduing
  2. shushing
  3. suppressing
  4. quieting
  5. repressing
  6. silencing
  7. crushing
  8. muting
Verb
  • The school's head teacher, Krzysztof Ochmanski, was injured while subduing the teenager, officials said.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The handful of Israeli passengers grappled with the copilot for several minutes before subduing him and binding his hands with the cord from a set of headphones.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of subduing
Verb
  • Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim went to 3-0 for the week with a crowd-shushing rally from 2 down to a 2-and-1 victory over Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Definition of shushing
Verb
  • Embracing uncertainty does not mean ignoring danger, suppressing disappointment or insisting that every setback is positive.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to suppressing screen tearing, the Pro upgrade adds color and luminance certification as well as HDR compatibility.
    — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of suppressing
Verb
  • Patrick Mahomes finished the job by scrambling up the middle, simultaneously giving the Chiefs an early lead and quieting some doubts about his reconstructed ACL and LCL.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Use the words that suit the tone of the piece, and that might mean quieting your inner voice, or the voice of your mother.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of quieting
Verb
  • Egyptian authorities alternated over the decades between tolerating and repressing the group, which was permitted to field candidates in elections for brief periods.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • When elites are strong, dictators need to accommodate them, often by repressing outsiders to shield insiders from potential challenges.
    — José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026
Definition of repressing
Verb
  • Added to the violence of destruction and looting is the less visible but equally devastating violence of silencing.
    — Ollivier Pourriol, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Jasper, in Chicago, understands the risk of silencing those hunger cues.
    — Anna Cooban, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of silencing
Verb
  • The Tigers bounced back from an overtime loss to Kentucky by crushing Mississippi State (which was missing quarterback Kamario Taylor and running back Fluff Bothwell).
    — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
  • On the other side, that's a crushing loss for a Nittany Lions team that certainly didn't need any more games going in the loss column.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of crushing
Verb
  • The Broncos’ defense will produce two takeaways, muting 14 receptions by the Rams’ tight ends and running backs.
    — Sam Jane, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Among several solutions such as time limits and muting notifications during certain hours, the changes include giving teens the option to choose to view a non-algorithmic social media feed that isn’t personalized.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of muting

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Cite this Entry

“Quelling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quelling. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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