squelching

verb

present participle of squelch
1
as in suppressing
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force immediately squelched any signs of rebellion

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shushing
to stop the noise or speech of his irritated glare squelched any other potential objectors

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 squelching The Atlanta metro has been going back and forth between squelching heat and major storms. — Irene Wright, USA Today, 31 July 2026 Heat domes are sprawling areas of strong high pressure that act like a lid on the atmosphere, trapping heat underneath and squelching clouds and precipitation with their sinking air, resulting in thousands of excess deaths in Europe alone. — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 25 July 2026 The other 32 states plan to continue trying to convince a jury that Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster, are squelching competition and driving up prices for fans. — Larry Neumeister, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2026 The other 32 states, along with the District of Columbia, plan to continue trying to convince a jury that Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster, are squelching competition and driving up prices for fans. — ABC News, 13 Mar. 2026 The continuation of the trial will leave the states to press claims to further dismantle a monopoly the Justice Department said was squelching competition and driving up prices for fans. — Larry Neumeister, Fortune, 9 Mar. 2026 Stylistically, the album feels of a piece with the work of post-Earl MCs like MIKE or Navy Blue, delivering meditations over electro-funk loops resplendent with squelching synths, twinkling keys, and Jimmy Jam drums. — Liam Inscoe-Jones, Pitchfork, 5 Mar. 2026 Then, civic leaders and voters can openly debate the wisdom of squelching free speech and unfettered human inquiry. — James Druckman, Mercury News, 17 Oct. 2025 Whoever came up with the idea to merge a Planet Earth–style doc with the screeching score, squelching sounds, and jump scares of the horror genre, congratulations. — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squelching
  1. suppressing
  2. shushing
  3. quelling
  4. silencing
  5. subduing
  6. muting
  7. repressing
  8. quieting
Verb
  • Lampooning authority is even common in autocratic societies where governments spend large sums of money suppressing speech.
    — Christopher von Rueden, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2026
  • This is economic capacity currently lost to suppressing yield across the labor market.
    — Katica Roy, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of suppressing
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
  • 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
Definition of quelling
Verb
  • Williams departed with a right hamstring injury midway through the fourth quarter, silencing a drenched crowd of 58,914 at Soldier Field.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Those findings should not be reduced to one group silencing the other.
    — Liam Julian, Baltimore Sun, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of silencing
Verb
  • 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
  • After subduing the pilot, another crew member entered the cockpit and stabilized the plane.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of subduing
Verb
  • 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
  • During the third act, in a cunning effect, when anyone picks up a phone, the screen’s contents are displayed on a wall as the lights fade, muting the friends onstage.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
Definition of muting
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
  • 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

Browse Nearby Words

squelches
squelching
squib
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Cite this Entry

“Squelching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squelching. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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