quell
/kwɛl/verb, noun
quell is spelled Q-U-E-L-L: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, quell means “To subdue, put down, or silence (someone or something); to force (someone) to submit” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in quell?
| Letters | 5: Q-U-E-L-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is quell?
Quell appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce quell?
- US /kwɛl/
Quell has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-quell.ogg, En-au-quell.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with quell?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as quell from its last stressed vowel (/ɛl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of quell
- quells present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- quelling participle, present
- quelled participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does quell mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 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.
to quell grief
- 3
obsoleteTo kill.
- 4
obsoleteTo be subdued or abated; to diminish.
- 5
To die.
noun
- 1
A subduing.
- 2
A source, especially a spring.
- 3
An emotion or sensation which rises suddenly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Quell in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réprimer |
| German | unterdrücken , auslöschen, beenden |
| Portuguese | sedar |
| Spanish | subyugar, reprimir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does quell come from?
From Middle English quellen, from Old English cwellan (“to kill”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwalljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwaljaną (“to make die; kill”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-. Cognate with German quälen (“to torment; agonise; smite”), Swedish kvälja (“to torment”), Icelandic kvelja (“to torture; torment”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).