v.
Pronunciation: ' kwench
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English -cwencan; akin to Old English -cwincan to vanish, Old Frisian quinka
Date: 12th century
transitive verb
1 a : PUT OUT , EXTINGUISH b : to put out the light or fire of < quench glowing coals with water> c : to cool (as heated metal) suddenly by immersion (as in oil or water) d : to cause to lose heat or warmth <you have quench ed the warmth of France toward you ― Alfred Tennyson>
2 a : to bring (something immaterial) to an end typically by satisfying, damping, cooling, or decreasing <a rational understanding of the laws of nature can quench impossible desires ― Lucius Garvin> <the praise that quench es all desire to read the book ― T. S. Eliot> b : to terminate by or as if by destroying : ELIMINATE <the Commonwealth party quench ed a whole generation of play-acting ― Margery Bailey> < quench a rebellion> c : to relieve or satisfy with liquid < quench ed his thirst at a wayside spring>
intransitive verb
1 : to become extinguished : COOL
2 : to become calm : SUBSIDE
– quench · able \ ' kwen-ch ə -b ə l \ adjective
– quench · er noun
– quench · less \ ' kwench-l ə s \ adjective