transitive verb

• Defeat thoroughly.

  ‘Mexican forces vanquished the French army in a battle in Puebla’

  More example sentences

  • ‘It's all very well to speak of patriotism, of duty and of vanquishing the forces of evil when you're safe in a bunker thousands of miles away from the possibility of action.’
  • ‘His troops had vanquished their opponents, now the Army and its prisoners were on their way home.’
  • ‘Council procedures and culture should emphasize discussion and accommodation rather than scoring debater's points and vanquishing one's opponents.’
  • ‘Defeat at Trafalgar ended any hope of maritime supremacy for France, and thus any realistic hope of vanquishing the British, but Napoleon continued to steamroller his continental opponents.’
  • ‘Gaining the prize requires vanquishing your opponents, and your strength is inversely proportional to theirs.’
  • ‘Researchers may also better understand the forces that vanquished the Ice Age ecosystem.’
  • ‘Life appears to vanquish the hope and ideals of all men, dragging in its train even the greatest, like Plato, Alexander, or Napoleon.’
  • ‘Arguments are used constructively to clarify issues, not to vanquish opponents.’
  • ‘The sooner the world understands it, the sooner we will be able to vanquish these forces of evil.’
  • ‘He did not flinch as the verdict was read to a hushed court - and his hopes of divine intervention were vanquished.’
  • ‘Medical technology has enabled scientific medicine to vanquish its rivals in the medical marketplace in the quest for patient patronage and health insurance funds.’
  • ‘Evidence from researchers at Hull University suggests many people benefit from relaxation therapy, hypnotherapy and guided imagery in which patients are taught to visualise their bodies' defences vanquishing tumours.’
  • ‘Finally, Christ will return, vanquishing the Anti-Christ and ushering in the thousand-year reign of Christ on Earth.’
  • ‘But while vanquishing the enemy on the field of battle is necessary, it is not sufficient.’
  • ‘As time goes on, it's become clear that he sees his role less as making sure our soldiers vanquish the enemy than making sure he vanquishes the press and the straw men he puts so much rhetorical energy into creating.’
  • ‘Uncertainty vanquishes notions of exclusivity and superiority.’
  • ‘He's out of ammo and doomed for sure, and there's 15 guys on him, and he vanquishes them all with his will and might.’
  • ‘Its report, in the spring, is likely to demand radical change in relations between the rich and poor world if abject poverty is to be vanquished.’
  • ‘Certain diseases that we thought we had vanquished years ago are coming back.’
  • ‘As at least three art historians allege, St. George never vanquished a dragon, as legend asserts.’

  Synonyms

  conquer, defeat, defeat utterly, beat, beat hollow, trounce, annihilate, triumph over, win a resounding victory over, be victorious over, best, get the better of, worst, bring someone to their knees, overcome, overwhelm, subdue, subjugate, put down, quell, quash, crush, repress, rout

  View synonyms