vanquish

van·quish
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/ˈvæŋkwɪʃ/[ˈvæŋkʰw̥ɪʃ]Canada, US/ˈveɪ̯ŋkwɪʃ/Canada, US[ˈveɪ̯ŋkʰw̥ɪʃ]

verb

To defeat (someone); to overcome.

Similar
beatbeat outcrushshelltrounceoutwitoverreachoutsmart
OriginMiddle English venquysshen ← Old French veincre ← Latin vincō →
Less commonScrabble 23
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Word of the Day · Apr 29, 2026

Meanings

verbvanquish (third-person singular simple present vanquishes, present participle vanquishing, simple past and past participle vanquished)

present singular third person vanquishes · participle present vanquishing · participle past vanquished · past vanquished

  1. transitiveTo defeat (someone); to overcome.

    They […] vanquished the rebels in all encounters.

    1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater
    2 more examples

    In ſingle Combat thou ſhalt buckle vvith me; / And if thou vanquiſheſt, thy vvords are true, / Othervviſe I renounce all confidence.

    c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 98, column 2

    This bold assertion has been so fully vanquish'd in a late reply to the Bishop of Meaux's treatise.

    1687, Francis Atterbury, An Answer to Some Considerations on the Spirit of Martin Luther and the Original of the Reformation; […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Sheldonian] Theater, →OCLC

Synonyms & antonyms

verbcome out better in a competition, race, or conflict

Similar
beatbeat outcrushshelltrounceoutwitoverreachoutsmart
Broader
surpassoutstripoutmatch
Also see
beatbeat outbehedgebindcheckcrushcurbdefeatdiscomfitget up inhamshacklehold downmalavogueovercomeownreducerepressshellstiflesubduesubjugatesuppresstrounceunderbringwithstrain

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinvincō
  2. Old Frenchveincre
  3. Middle Englishvenquysshen
  4. Englishvanquish

From Middle English venquysshen, vaynquisshen, borrowed from a conjugated form of Old French veincre, from Latin vincō.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bengali পরাভূত করা
  • পরাভূত করা (porabhut kora)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Bulgarian надвивам, надвия
  • надвивам (nadvivam)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • надвия (nadvija)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • побеждавам (pobeždavam)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • победя (pobedja)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Chinese Mandarin 消滅 /消灭, 征服
  • 消滅 /消灭 (xiāomiè)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • 征服 (zhēngfú)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Czech porazit, přemoci
  • porazitto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • přemocito defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • překonatto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Dutch overwinnen, verslaan
  • overwinnen, verslaanto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Finnish voittaa, päihittää
  • voittaato defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • päihittääto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • kukistaato defeat (someone) — see also overcome
French vaincre
  • vaincreto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
German besiegen
  • besiegento defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Greek καταβάλλω
  • καταβάλλω (katavállo)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Italian sopraffare, sconfiggere
  • sopraffareto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • sconfiggereto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • vincereto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Japanese 倒す, やっつける
  • 倒す (taosu)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • やっつける (yattsukeru)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Latin ēvincō
  • ēvincōto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Māori takapapa
  • takapapato defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Norwegian nedkjempe, overvinne
  • nedkjempeto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • overvinneto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Portuguese derrotar, vencer
  • derrotarto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • vencerto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • superarto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Russian побежда́ть, победи́ть
  • побежда́ть (pobeždátʹ)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • победи́ть (pobedítʹ)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • преодолева́ть (preodolevátʹ)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • преодоле́ть (preodolétʹ)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • покоря́ть (pokorjátʹ)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • покори́ть (pokorítʹ)to defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Spanish vencer
  • vencerto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Swedish besegra, övervinna
  • besegrato defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • övervinnato defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Turkish yenmek, alt etmek
  • yenmekto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
  • alt etmekto defeat (someone) — see also overcome
Cite this entry
APA

vanquish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vanquish

MLA

“vanquish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vanquish. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vanquish,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vanquish.

Source: vanquish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.