Usage Note

I have been reading many very talented writers lately who use phrases similar to "squash dissent." I think the word they mean to use is quash:

Pronunciation: 'kwäsh, 'kwosh

Function: transitive verb

Etymology: Middle English quashen to smash, from Middle French quasser, casser, from Latin quassare to shake violently, shatter, frequentative of quatere to shake

Date: 13th century: to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely

Definition from Merriam-Webster Online.