quash
/kwɒʃ
/verb [with object]
1Reject as invalid, especially by legal procedure: his conviction was quashed on appeal...
- In this case Kennedy was distinguished and the Court of Appeal held, in quashing the accused's conviction for manslaughter, that the chain of causation was broken by the victim's act of self-injection.
- In Mazo the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and stated that a person cannot be guilty of theft of property received as a valid gift.
- Secondly, the expert evidence which persuaded the Court of Appeal to quash the murder conviction and substitute manslaughter had not been before the jury.
Synonyms
cancel, reverse, rescind, repeal, revoke, retract, countermand, withdraw, take back, rule against, disallow, overturn, override, overrule, veto, set aside, overthrow, repudiate, annul, nullify, declare null and void, invalidate, render invalid, negate, void, abrogate;
Law vacate
archaic recall
1.1Put an end to; suppress: a hospital executive quashed rumours that nursing staff will lose jobs...
- The gallery does now say it will build on its existing land, thus quashing rumours that it was looking at a site elsewhere in the city, but otherwise says its plans are still at the discussion stage.
- Lisa recently quashed rumours she was set to marry George as she wouldn't want to swap her home in Essex for George's Hollywood Hills property.
- He also quashed rumours that the Farnborough airshow, the UK's biggest aviation trade show and the Air Tattoo might merge.
Synonyms
put an end to, stamp out, put a stop to, end, finish, get rid of, crush, put down, check, crack down on, curb, nip in the bud, thwart, frustrate, squash, quell, subdue, suppress, repress, quench, extinguish, stifle, abolish, terminate;
beat, overcome, defeat, rout, destroy, demolish, annihilate, wipe out
informal squelch, put the kibosh on, clobber
rare extirpate
Origin
Middle English: from Old French quasser 'annul', from late Latin cassare (medieval Latin also quassare), from cassus 'null, void'. Compare with squash1.