quench
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Put out, as of fires, flames.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kwehnchIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkwɛntʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To satisfy, especially a literal or figurative thirst.
“The cold water quenched his thirst.”
Put out, as of fires, flames, or lights
transitivemetallurgy
To cool rapidly by direct contact with liquid coolant, as a blacksmith quenching hot iron.
noun
The act of quenching something; the fact of being quenched.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To satisfy, especially a literal or figurative thirst.
Used this way, quench is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“The cold water quenched his thirst.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use quench
- “The cold water quenched his thirst.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of extinguishing.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Steel that has been hardened by immersing it in water or oil to cool it.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to satisfy or especially a literal or figurative thirst
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.