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''quenching'' ⚬ Entries

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''quenching'' ⚬｜Definition｜1st｜20260911135106-00-⌔

quenching - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Noun

quenching (countable and uncountable, plural quenchings)

  • (physics) The extinction of any of several physical properties.
  • (metallurgy) The rapid cooling of a hot metal object, by placing it in a liquid, in order to harden it.
  • (astronomy) A process in which a galaxy loses cold gas, thus strongly suppressing star formation.
  • (botany) The dissipation of energy from light in excess of what can be used for photosynthesis.
    • ✤ When a leaf is in full sunshine, it absorbs more light energy than its photosynthetic machinery can handle. This damages cells unless they turn on a mechanism known as quenching to dissipate the excess energy.1
  • ✤ When a leaf is shaded, however, quenching has to be turned off to avoid dissipating energy that could be used.

Verb

quenching

  • present participle and gerund of quench

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US, Canada) IPA: /ˈkwɛn.t͡ʃɪŋ/
  • (Australia) IPA: /ˈkwen.t͡ʃɪŋ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛntʃɪŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle English quenchinge, equivalent to quench +‎ -ing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English quenching, quenchyng, quenchand, quenchende, equivalent to quench +‎ -ing.

Printed 2026-09-11.

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Footnotes

  1. 2022 August 27, Michael Le Page, Genetic tweaking increases soy yield by upgrading photosynthesis, New Scientist, Issue 3401, page 16, ↩

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Secondary

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