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conquest

American  
[kon-kwest, kong-] / ˈkɒn kwɛst, ˈkɒŋ- /

noun

  1. the act or state of conquering or the state of being conquered; vanquishment.

    Synonyms:
    mastery, defeat, subjugation
    Antonyms:
    surrender
  2. the winning of favor, affection, love, etc..

    the conquest of Antony by Cleopatra.

    Synonyms:
    enchantment, seduction
  3. a person whose favor, affection, etc., has been won.

    He's another one of her conquests.

  4. anything acquired by conquering, as a nation, a territory, or spoils.

  5. the Conquest. Norman Conquest.


conquest 1 British  
/ ˈkɒnkwɛst, ˈkɒŋ- /

noun

  1. the act or an instance of conquering or the state of having been conquered; victory

  2. a person, thing, etc, that has been conquered or won

  3. the act or art of gaining a person's compliance, love, etc, by seduction or force of personality

  4. a person, whose compliance, love, etc, has been won over by seduction or force of personality

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Conquest 2 British  
/ ˈkɒnkwɛst, ˈkɒŋ- /

noun

  1. See Norman Conquest

  2. the conquest by the United Kingdom of French North America, ending in 1763

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See victory.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of conquest

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English conqueste, from Anglo-French, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin conquēsta (for Latin conquīsīta, feminine past participle of conquīrere ). See con-, quest

Explanation

Alexander the Great's famous conquest of the Persian Empire was an act of conquering. For Casanova, on the other hand, a conquest was an act of seduction. Conquest derives from the Vulgar Latin word conquaerere, meaning "to search for, procure by effort, or win." In addition to its most commonly used meanings — conquering and seduction — conquest has a third, less well-known meaning: a success in mastering something difficult, like the violin, for instance, or flying an airplane.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing conquest

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Conquest would also have been unthinkable without the Spaniards’ alliances with the Aztecs’ aggrieved subjects, who contributed tens of thousands of warriors to the cause.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

His gift for languages -- he spoke French, English and Spanish among others -- meant he was soon appearing in international productions, such as Ridley Scott's historical epic "1492: Conquest of Paradise".

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

The novel is set in the 19th century, but in a version of England where the Norman Conquest of 1066 failed.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2025

I should add that Jefferson greatly admired the medieval world before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 ended Anglo-Saxon rule.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2024

Conquest and liberation and democracy and divorce are words that mean squat, basically, when you have hungry children and clothes to get out on the line and it looks like rain.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver