vanquish Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb come out better in a competition, race, or conflict
    shell; beat; trounce; crush; beat out.
    • Agassi beat Becker in the tennis championship
    • We beat the competition
    • Harvard defeated Yale in the last football game

WordNet

Van"quish transitive verb
Etymology
OE. venquishen, venquissen, venkisen,F. vaincre, pret. vainquis, OF. veintre, pret. venqui, venquis (cf. an OF. infin. vainquir), fr. L. vincere; akin to AS. wig war, battle, wigant a warrior, wigan to fight, Icel. vig battle, Goth. weihan to fight, contend. Cf. Convince, Evict, Invincible, Victor.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Vanquished ; present participle & verbal noun Vanquishing
Definitions
  1. To conquer, overcome, or subdue in battle, as an enemy. Hakluyt.
    They . . . Vanquished the rebels in all encounters. Clarendon.
  2. Hence, to defeat in any contest; to get the better of; to put down; to refute.
    This bold assertion has been fully vanquished in a late reply to the Bishop of Meaux's treatise. Atterbury.
    For e'en though vanquished, he could argue still. Goldsmith.
    Syn. -- To conquer; surmount; overcome; confute; silence. See Conquer.
Van"quish noun
Definitions
  1. (Far.) A disease in sheep, in which they pine away. Written also vinquish.

Webster 1913