Quash Meaning
/kwɒʃ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo defeat decisively, to suppress.
verbTo crush or dash to pieces.
Sentence Examples
The CEO is trying to quash these unfounded rumors about a merger.
Firefighters worked quickly to quash the flames before they spread to nearby homes.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The dictator used military force to ____ the rebellion before it grew.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The court moved to ____ the conviction after new evidence emerged that cast doubt on the verdict.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English quaschen, quasshen, cwessen, quassen, from Old French quasser, from Latin quassāre, under the influence of cassō (“to annul”), from Latin quatiō (“to shake”) Cognate with Dutch kwetsen (“to hurt, injure”), German quetschen (“to crush, squash”), Spanish quejar (“to complain”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Contrition is apt to quash or allay all worldly grief."
— a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number)”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC:
"Anne that she had been perfectly right in her proceedings, since, by quashing all idle hopes, both parties would see the necessity of conquering their foolish passion."
— 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 269:
"In an early scene with her father, Alma is shown rebelling against the staid, petty and occasionally vicious life of Glorious Hill, Mississippi; her father quashes her cruelly, but it is established that Alma has it in her to defy convention."
— 1976 December 25, Robert Chesley, “New York's "Nightingale" Does No Justice to Williams' Play”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 26, page 16:
"The whales / Against sharp rocks, like reeling vessels, quashed, / Though huge as mountains, are in pieces dashed."
— 1645, Edmund Waller, The Battle Of The Summer Islands:
"In the case of an appeal against conviction the Court shall, if they allow the appeal, quash the conviction."
— 1968, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Section 2(2)”, in Criminal Appeal Act 1968^(Criminal Appeal Act 1968), page 2:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The dictator used military force to ____ the rebellion before it grew.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The court moved to ____ the conviction after new evidence emerged that cast doubt on the verdict.