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quench

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To extinguish fire or light; to satisfy or slake thirst or desire completely; to suppress or eliminate something burning, whether literal flames or figurative passion.

Detailed Definition
“Quench” conveys finality—quenched flames, quenched desire. In poetry, it symbolizes fulfillment or death. The term’s softness masks intensity. Poets use it to explore longing’s end, where quenching brings relief or loss, reinforcing themes of satiety, mortality, and the limits of appetite in lyrical and meditative traditions.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Only tears could quench her sorrow,” in an emotional lyric; In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: “My tears have got small victory by that; / For if the enemy be fair, / My love’s a fever, longing still / For that which longer nurseth the disease... / And then I have the power to quench it”; “The fire of rage could not be quenched”; “Quench thy thirst with truth, not lies”; “The well of hope was quenched by drought”; His kiss quenched years of longing.
Additional Notes
“Quench” satisfies elemental needs—thirst, fire, desire; in metaphysical poetry, unquenchable flames symbolize eternal longing, while quenched fires mark resolution or death.
Also Known As
extinguish satisfy slake
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