squashing

verb

present participle of squash
1
as in crushing
to cause to become a pulpy mass the sort of person who couldn't even squash a bug

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in suppressing
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force squashed any effort to reform the country's power structure

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of squashing The east-side neighbors going to court join two other communities who have filed lawsuits in hopes of squashing developers' plans to spend millions of dollars on data centers. — Alysa Guffey, IndyStar, 24 Aug. 2026 And Jason Momoa, who recently starred in the game-to-movie blockbuster A Minecraft Movie, appeared to be the best guy to put behind the sci-fi series’ big, bug-squashing hand cannons. — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026 Speakers also recounted the resignation from Congress of Marjorie Taylor Greene in January, maintaining that the Republican Party is squashing its anti-Israel voices, while the Democratic Party is electing them. — Joseph Strauss, Sun Sentinel, 8 June 2026 Imagine if Jeff Bezos got bored just owning The Washington Post, firing hundreds of writers and squashing the freedom of its opinion section, and decided to join the American forces parachuting into Venezuela or Iran, only to ignore their orders and seize some prisoners on his own. — Literary Hub, 21 May 2026 Morris fell on top of her, knees spread to keep from squashing Dinah’s chest and maybe killing her. — Stephen King, The Atlantic, 15 May 2026 Tourists can threaten ecosystems by compacting soils, squashing fragile vegetation and bringing in non-native microbes and plant species. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 8 May 2026 The actor ended up growing a beard and added some makeup, squashing most concerns that his cover might be blown. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 7 May 2026 Despite squashing his beef with his former crew, Bam Margera will not be back for new stunts, but there will be archival footage of him and Ryan Dunn. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squashing
  1. crushing
  2. suppressing
  3. mashing
  4. quelling
  5. squeezing
  6. subduing
  7. repressing
  8. quashing
Verb
  • Consider each target wounded by crushing knockdowns and then killed by piggy-backers, irrespective of the quality of the quarter.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The writer compared the collapse of civil society to a boulder rolling downhill, crushing things in its path.
    — KANIS LEUNG, Christian Science Monitor, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of crushing
Verb
  • Many cope by masking or camouflaging — suppressing autistic traits in order to fit in.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • However, moderate levels enable the locus coeruleus to emphasize task-relevant information while suppressing background noise.
    — Julian Hayes II, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of suppressing
Verb
  • The idea of mashing avocado onto bread wasn’t new then—the Australian chef Bill Granger had been doing it since the 90s, and home cooks had surely arrived at the pairing on their own.
    — Mary Holland, Air Mail, 22 Aug. 2026
  • The genre-mashing cult series starred Cole as Jughead Jones and filmed in Vancouver from 2016-2023.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of mashing
Verb
  • As Matt Reeves is hard at work in Gotham City, James Gunn is quelling some overeager fans about the timeline of the Batman trilogy.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Aside from Spain’s progress in quelling the fires this week, there are still active fires in France to consider, since the particulate matter could continue drifting across large portions of its neighboring nation.
    — T. Michelle Murphy, Time, 29 July 2026
Definition of quelling
Verb
  • In the distance, a toddler in a matching Nike outfit literally leaped into the arms of a crying woman, perhaps a grandmother, squeezing tightly for a hug.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The floods will likely change that outlook, squeezing a country that’s heavily dependent on tourism while forcing a costly period of reconstruction.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of squeezing
Verb
  • The drones rip through the hallways scanning for a threat before disorienting a suspect using flashing lights and subduing them using pepper balls or by ramming into their body, the company says.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • This means the market makers, often called dealers, are the ones that have to play catch-up, adding to volatility instead of subduing it.
    — Oliver Renick, CNBC, 23 July 2026
Definition of subduing
Verb
  • When elites are strong, dictators need to accommodate them, often by repressing outsiders to shield insiders from potential challenges.
    — José Kaire, The Conversation, 17 July 2026
  • Normally, this modifier gene suppresses the creation of a second kind of hemoglobin, typically made only during fetal development; repressing the gene prompts cells to start making the fetal form of hemoglobin again, which acts as a backup.
    — Roxanne Khamsi, The Atlantic, 7 July 2026
Definition of repressing
Verb
  • The Supreme Court in recent years has handed down rulings in both campaign finance law cases and donor disclosure law cases, quashing restrictions as violations of the First Amendment.
    — Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Corinaldesi ruled out layoffs or redundancies, quashing the concerns of local trade union Filcams Cgil over the fate of the 200 workers employed by LuisaViaRoma at the time.
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 21 July 2026
Definition of quashing

Browse Nearby Words

squashes
squashing
squashy
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Cite this Entry

“Squashing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squashing. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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