subdue
Americanverb (used with object)
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subdues,
present (3rd person singular)
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subdued,
past participle, past
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subduing
present participle
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to conquer and bring into subjection.
Rome subdued Gaul.
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to overpower by superior force; overcome.
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to bring under mental or emotional control, as by persuasion or intimidation; render submissive.
- Synonyms:
- suppress, discipline, break, tame
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to repress (feelings, impulses, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- suppress
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to bring (land) under cultivation.
to subdue the wilderness.
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to reduce the intensity, force, or vividness of (sound, light, color, etc.); tone down; soften.
- Antonyms:
- intensify
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to allay (inflammation, infection, etc.).
verb
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to establish ascendancy over by force
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to overcome and bring under control, as by intimidation or persuasion
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to hold in check or repress (feelings, emotions, etc)
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to render less intense or less conspicuous
Synonym Usage
See defeat.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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subduablenessnoun
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subdualnoun
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subduernoun
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presubdueverb (used with object)
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subduableadjective
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unsubduableadjective
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subduablyadverb
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subduinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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subduesimple
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subduessimple
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have subduedperfect
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has subduedperfect
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am subduingprogressive
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are subduingprogressive
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is subduingprogressive
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have been subduingperfect progressive
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has been subduingperfect progressive
Past
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subduedsimple
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had subduedperfect
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was subduingprogressive
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were subduingprogressive
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had been subduingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subdue
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English so(b)duen, so(b)dewen, from unattested Anglo-French soduer “to overcome,” from Old French soduire “to deceive, seduce,” from Latin subdūcere “to withdraw”; meaning in English (and Anglo-French ) from Latin subdere “to place beneath, subdue”; see subduct
Explanation
To subdue is to hold back, put down, or defeat. A Doberman can be subdued with a bone, but subduing a yapping toy poodle can be a mail carrier's greatest daily challenge. You can use the verb subdue in ways ranging from subtle to very forceful. If someone is angry, you might subdue him with kind words that overcome his anger. If someone is coming at you with a giant karate chop, you may be able to subdue her with a secret weapon — a knee-snap–heel-kick-floor-drop. Sub-, as in submarine means "below" and subdue means to bring low — to keep down literally or to calm down emotionally.
Vocabulary lists containing subdue
Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I A Woman?" (1863)
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
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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.
See Examples For:
However, this could also help the trade overall as it might also subdue worries about overfunding.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
The G.L.O.V.E. delivers a shock that is not as strong as that of a Taser, another device used by law enforcement to subdue suspects.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Their venom and bites evolved to subdue prey that is far smaller than a human.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
The land wasn’t empty, and Native American tribes fought fiercely to defend it in alliance with the British, leading Washington to dispatch multiple punitive expeditions to subdue them and exert American control.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
President Buchanan, utterly failing to understand his country’s deep divisions, tried to subdue public opinion by labeling slavery’s expansion “a matter of but little practical importance.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
We don’t yet know how MiniFlayer subdues its helper, or whether MindFlayer has evolved countermeasures.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2023
Nathan, a rich Jewish trader, is wooed by Salah ad-Din to shore up the city’s treasury after the sultan subdues the Christian crusaders, sparing one, played with amusing energy by Drew Kopas.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
One half of this cycle subdues tides, making the high tides lower and the low tides higher.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
A masterpiece of bromantic woes, the movie subdues toxic masculinity and makes a case for men’s often dismissed necessity for platonic companionship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2020
His handsome face had never looked half so handsome: it expressed daring, power, hope, ardour, all that subdues the future to a man's will.
From Daisy Burns (Volume 1) by Julia Kavanagh
The Bank of Canada expects the real-estate market, which last decade was a major driver of growth, to remain subdued due to slow population growth and affordability constraints.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
In 2015, as leader of Israel's centre-left Labour party, Herzog vied to oust Netanyahu as prime minister, presenting himself as a subdued, even-keeled alternative to the bombastic "Bibi".
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
The Bank of Thailand is expected to keep interest rates unchanged Wednesday as it balances inflation pressures against uneven and subdued economic growth, DBS economists said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
After being subdued and detained by the passersby, the suspect was arrested by police.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
His softened voice announced that he was subdued; so I, in my turn, became calm.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Sun Tzu, perhaps the most famous military strategist in human history, wrote in the fifth century B.C. that subduing an enemy without fighting was the height of military skill.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
Young was attempting to be “playful,” according to court records, but the other agent responded by disarming and physically subduing Young, who was ordered to surrender his gun and soon retired.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2025
Gigantic or tiny, fearsome or cuddly, stealing from the rich or subduing gangsters, they scamper through the film with lolling-tongued delight and discernible personalities.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2024
That facts such as these weren’t obvious from the beginning only shows the power of myth in subduing skeptical thinking.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2023
Nearly every afternoon, he commuted home to coach Louie, running alongside him, subduing the jimmying elbows and teaching him strategy.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
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