quell

Meaning

1. To subdue, put down, or silence (someone or something); to force (someone) to submit.
2. To suppress, to put an end to (something); to extinguish.
3. (obsolete) To kill.
4. (obsolete) To be subdued or abated; to diminish.
5. To die.

suppress

overbear

control oneself

choke down

force back

choke back

trample underfoot

have the best

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kwɛl/

From Middle English quellen, from Old English cwellan (“to kill”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwaljaną (“to make die; kill”). Cognate with German quälen (“to torment; agonise; smite”), Swedish kvälja (“to torment”), Icelandic kvelja (“to torture; torment”). Compare also Old Armenian կեղ (keł, “sore, ulcer”), Old Church Slavonic жаль (žalĭ, “pain”). See also kill, which may be its doublet.