# quash

> English word · Verb · IPA /kwɒʃ/ · frequency rank #39,506

## Definitions
1. To defeat decisively, to suppress.
2. To crush or dash to pieces.
3. To void or suppress (a subpoena, decision, etc.).

## Etymology
From Middle English quaschen, quasshen, cwessen, quassen, from Old French quasser, from Latin quassāre, under the influence of cassō (“to annul”), from Latin quatiō (“I shake”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₁t- (“to shake”) (same root for the English words: pasta, paste, pastiche, pastry). Cognate with Dutch kwetsen (“to hurt, injure”), German quetschen (“to crush, squash”), Spanish quejar (“to complain”).

## Easily confused with
- **quay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quash-vs-quay)
- **quest** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quash-vs-quest)
- **quasi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quash-vs-quasi)
- **queasy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quash-vs-queasy)
- **qua** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/qua-vs-quash)
- **quad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quad-vs-quash)
- **qual** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/qual-vs-quash)
- **quake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quake-vs-quash)
- **quail** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quail-vs-quash)
- **quack** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quack-vs-quash)
- **quark** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quark-vs-quash)
- **quart** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quart-vs-quash)
- **quads** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quads-vs-quash)
- **quant** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/quant-vs-quash)

## Common misspellings (7)
`qaush`, `qquash`, `quahs`, `quashh`, `quassh`, `qusah`, `uqash`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/quash