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Squelch vs Quell - What's the difference?

squelch | quell |

As verbs the difference between squelch and quell

is that squelch is to halt, stop, eliminate, stamp out, or put down, often suddenly or by force while quell is to kill.

As nouns the difference between squelch and quell

is that squelch is a squelching sound while quell is a spring or fountain.

squelch

English

Verb

(es)
  • (US) to halt, stop, eliminate, stamp out, or put down, often suddenly or by force
    • Even the king’s announcement could not squelch the rumors.
  • * Beaumont and Fletcher
    • Oh 'twas your luck and mine to be squelched .
  • * Carlyle
    • If you deceive us you will be squelched .
  • (radio technology) to suppress the unwanted hiss or static between received transmissions by adjusting the gain of your receiver.
  • (British) to make a sucking, splashing noise as when walking on muddy ground
    • The mud squelched underfoot; it had been raining all night.
  • *
  • (British) to walk or step through a substance such as mud
    • The mud was thick and sticky underfoot, but we squelched through it nonetheless.

    Synonyms

    * (to halt) quash

    Noun

    (squelches)
  • A squelching sound.

    • Derived terms

    * squelchy

    quell

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To kill.
    • (Spenser)
  • To subdue, to put down; to silence or force (someone) to submit.
  • * Macaulay
    • The nation obeyed the call, rallied round the sovereign, and enabled him to quell the disaffected minority.
  • * Longfellow
    • Northward marching to quell the sudden revolt.
  • To suppress, to put an end to (something); to extinguish.
    • to quell grief
    to quell the tumult of the soul
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2014 , date=December 13 , author=Mandeep Sanghera , title=Burnley 1-0 Southampton , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=However, after quelling Burnley's threat, Southampton failed to build on their growing danger culminating in Tadic's missed penalty.}}
  • (obsolete) To be subdued or abated; to diminish.
  • * Spenser
    • Winter's wrath begins to quell .
  • To die.
  • * Spenser
    • Yet he did quake and quaver, like to quell .

    Etymology 2

    (etyl) Quelle .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A spring or fountain.
    • English terms with multiple etymologies