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quench

/kwɛntʃ/
/kwɛntʃ/
IPA guide

Other forms: quenched; quenching; quenches

Quench means to put out, put an end to, or satisfy. If you're stranded in the middle of the desert with nothing to drink, you're probably dreaming of a nice big glass of ice water to quench your thirst.

Quench originally meant “extinguish fires.” That meaning still works today, but we've expanded it to also apply to quenching the fiery thirst of a summer marathon runner or quenching the hot flames of passion. If you want to get deep about the word quench, consider what Voltaire said: “Superstition sets the whole world in flames; philosophy quenches them.”

Definitions of quench
  1. verb
    satisfy (thirst)
    “The cold water quenched his thirst”
    synonyms: allay, assuage, slake
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    type of:
    fill, fulfil, fulfill, meet, satisfy
    fill or meet a want or need
  2. verb
    put out, as of fires, flames, or lights
    quench the flames”
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    types:
    stub
    extinguish by crushing
    douse, put out
    put out, as of a candle or a light
    black out
    obliterate or extinguish
  3. verb
    reduce the degree of (luminescence or phosphorescence) in (excited molecules or a material) by adding a suitable substance
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    type of:
    bring down, cut, cut back, cut down, reduce, trim, trim back, trim down
    cut down on; make a reduction in
  4. verb
    cool (hot metal) by plunging into cold water or other liquid
    quench steel”