Meanings
present singular third person squelches · participle present squelching · participle past squelched · past squelched
- UStransitiveTo halt, stop, eliminate, stamp out, or put down, often suddenly or by force.
Even the king's announcement could not squelch the rumors.
4 more examples
Oh 'twas your luck and mine to be squelched.
c. 1615–1616, Thomas Middleton, John Fletcher, “The Nice Valour, or, The Passionate Mad-man”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act V, scene iIf you deceive us you will be squelched.
1858–1865, Thomas Carlyle, History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLCThe party’s dominant right wing squelched not only Sherman’s hopes for an early convention, but may have also put the MLA out of contention for the leadership.
1982 December 11, Frances Russell, “Economic performance buoys Pawley’s position”, in The Vancouver Sun (The Weekend Sun), Vancouver, BC, page A6We believe that Facebook is using privacy as a pretext to squelch research that it considers inconvenient.
2021 August 10, Laura Edelson, Damon McCoy, “We Research Misinformation on Facebook. It Just Disabled Our Accounts.”, in The New York Times, →ISSNSynonyms: quash
- UKintransitiveTo make a sucking, splashing noise as when walking on muddy ground.
The mud squelched underfoot; it had been raining all night.
1 more example
[After they both fell into the lake.] Reaching the mainland some moments later and squelching back to the house, accompanied by Bobbie, like a couple of Napoleons squelching back from Moscow, [...]
1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVI, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC
plural squelches
- countableA squelching sound.
- abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountablebroadcastingEllipsis of squelch circuit.
- countableentertainmentA kind of electronic beat or sound mainly used in acid house and related music genres.
Through a process of experimentation the 'acid squelch' sound came forth, which was recorded and passed on to DJ Ron Hardy to play at his Warehouse club.
1998, Colin Larkin, The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music, page 91
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo halt, stop, eliminate, stamp out, or put down, often suddenly or by force.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan electric circuit that cuts off a receiver when the signal becomes weaker than the noise
verbto compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian потушавам, потискам
- потушавам (potušavam)to halt, stop, eliminate
- потискам (potiskam)to halt, stop, eliminate
- шляпам (šljapam)to make a sucking, splashing noise
- шляпане (šljapane)a squelching sound
- потискане (potiskane)suppression of unwanted hiss
Czech učinit přítrž, zarazit
- učinit přítržto halt, stop, eliminate
- zarazitto halt, stop, eliminate
- čvachtatto make a sucking, splashing noise
- čvachtat seto walk or step through a substance such as a mud
- rochnit seto walk or step through a substance such as a mud
Dutch smoren, ploeteren
- smorento halt, stop, eliminate
- ploeterento walk or step through a substance such as a mud
French clouer le bec, museler
- clouer le becto halt, stop, eliminate
- muselerto halt, stop, eliminate
- réduire au silenceto halt, stop, eliminate
- faire floc flocto make a sucking, splashing noise
- faire flip-flapto make a sucking, splashing noise
German unterdrücken, matschen
- unterdrückento halt, stop, eliminate
- matschento make a sucking, splashing noise
- Rauschsperresuppression of unwanted hiss
- Rauschunterdrückungsuppression of unwanted hiss
Hungarian elnyom, elfojt
- elnyomto halt, stop, eliminate
- elfojtto halt, stop, eliminate
- elhallgattatto halt, stop, eliminate
- megakadályozto halt, stop, eliminate
- letörto halt, stop, eliminate
- eltaposto halt, stop, eliminate
- kiirtto halt, stop, eliminate
- felszámolto halt, stop, eliminate
- megállítto halt, stop, eliminate
- eltiporto halt, stop, eliminate
- cuppogto make a sucking, splashing noise
- szortyogto make a sucking, splashing noise
- cuppogása squelching sound
- szortyogása squelching sound
- szörcsögésa squelching sound
- csendeshangolássuppression of unwanted hiss
- zajelnyomássuppression of unwanted hiss
- zajzársuppression of unwanted hiss
Māori pakora, pākorakora
- pakoraa squelching sound
- pākorakoraa squelching sound
Russian уничтожа́ть, хлюпать
- уничтожа́ть (uničtožátʹ)to halt, stop, eliminate
- хлюпать (xljupatʹ)to make a sucking, splashing noise
- хлюпанье (xljupanʹje)a squelching sound
- шумоподавление (šumopodavlenije)suppression of unwanted hiss
Spanish aplastar, sintonizar
- aplastarto halt, stop, eliminate
- sintonizarradio technology: suppress hiss or static
- chapotearto make a sucking, splashing noise
Swedish hejda, hindra
- hejdato halt, stop, eliminate
- hindrato halt, stop, eliminate
- stoppato halt, stop, eliminate
- klafsato make a sucking, splashing noise
- klafsato walk or step through a substance such as a mud
- klafsa squelching sound
Ukrainian придушити, знищити
- придушити (prydušyty)to halt, stop, eliminate
- знищити (znyščyty)to halt, stop, eliminate
- розтоптати (roztoptaty)to halt, stop, eliminate
- придушити (prydušyty)radio technology: suppress hiss or static
- заглушити (zahlušyty)radio technology: suppress hiss or static
- хлюпати (xljupaty)to make a sucking, splashing noise
- чалапати (čalapaty)to make a sucking, splashing noise
- шльопати (šlʹopaty)to make a sucking, splashing noise
- чалапати (čalapaty)to walk or step through a substance such as a mud
- брьохати (brʹoxaty)to walk or step through a substance such as a mud
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with squelch
All rhymes →Cite this entry
squelch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squelch
“squelch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squelch. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “squelch,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squelch.
Source: squelch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.