subjugate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
subjugates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
subjugated,
past participle, past
-
subjugating
present participle
verb
-
to bring into subjection
-
to make subservient or submissive
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
subjugationnoun
-
subjugatornoun
-
nonsubjugableadjective
-
self-subjugatingadjective
-
subjugableadjective
-
unsubjugatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
subjugatesimple
-
subjugatessimple
-
have subjugatedperfect
-
has subjugatedperfect
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am subjugatingprogressive
-
are subjugatingprogressive
-
is subjugatingprogressive
-
have been subjugatingperfect progressive
-
has been subjugatingperfect progressive
Past
-
subjugatedsimple
-
had subjugatedperfect
-
was subjugatingprogressive
-
were subjugatingprogressive
-
had been subjugatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of subjugate
1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin subjugātus, past participle of subjugāre to subjugate, equivalent to sub- sub- + jug ( um ) yoke 1 + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
If you say you won't be kept down by the man, you are saying that you won't let the man subjugate you. To subjugate is to repress someone, or to make them subservient to you. In subjugate you see the word subject. In this word, it's not talking about the subject of a sentence, rather it's talking about the kind of subjects that Kings have serving them. Subjugate is to reduce someone's status to that of a subject. It's a royal demotion, often brought by force or intimidation.
Vocabulary lists containing subjugate
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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:
He was just a young man looking at a symbol of power and not caring much about who that power was used to subjugate.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
But she isn’t permitted to subjugate her characters to advance her own agenda, no matter how well-intentioned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
In 1876 President Ulysses S. Grant ordered the Army to subjugate the traditionals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
As he told the court that Combs had used his fame and power to "subjugate" his victims, the music mogul did not look up, remaining expressionless for the judge's 20-minute speech.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2025
They were going to subjugate all of the Far East.
From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand
It recounts the terror of falling in love—how the process subjugates people, leaves them vulnerable.
From The New Yorker ● Oct. 1, 2018
It's just another way our society subjugates men's emotions and it's really a shame.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2015
I read all the recent controversy surrounding Elisabeth Badinter's book, The Conflict, in which Badinter suggests breastfeeding and attachment parenting subjugates working women.
From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2012
On the other, it has tended to finesse or sidestep the issue of whether polygamy itself, or polygamy as practiced by the Henricksons, empowers or subjugates women.
From Time ● Mar. 21, 2011
When I am in her presence she inspires me with love; she draws me to her; she subjugates me with gentleness; she lays upon me a very easy yoke.
From Pepita Ximenez by Juan Valera
Mr. Higham accepts that these newcomers violently subjugated some regions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Kaunda's message was clear - black Africans must no longer be subjugated.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
In the early 1890s, U.S. political and military leaders tried to outlaw the Ghost Dance, fearing the movement was a precursor to an uprising in communities it subjugated.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
Proponents of that approach insist that the joy of reading must not be subjugated to the mechanics of reading.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
Yet a third theory is that the Zapotec of Monte Alban—not the Olmec of La Venta—consolidated to form North America’s first imperialist power, an aggressive state that subjugated dozens of other villages.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Aubrecht watches from afar as Yscalin falls to Fýredel, its ruler and populace subjugating themselves to the cruel dragons, desperate to avoid their wrath.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
His administration has helped keep Russia from subjugating the country, which was part of the Soviet Union before achieving its independence in 1991.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2023
A colonialist at heart, he is only truly at peace when subjugating, collecting and filing away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2023
These campaigns succeeded in subjugating the Xiongnu and gaining control over the eastern terminus of the Silk Roads.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
She imposes no oaths of allegiance on her priests, requiring them to adopt every available method of subjugating all government under her authority.
From Monks, Popes, and their Political Intrigues by John Alberger
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
