subjugate

American  

[suhb-juh-gayt] / ˈsʌb dʒəˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• subjugates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• subjugated,
  past participle,  past
• subjugating
  present participle

1. to bring under complete control or subjection; conquer; master.

   Synonyms:

   overpower, reduce, vanquish, overcome

2. to make submissive or subservient; enslave.

   Synonyms:

   overpower, reduce, vanquish, overcome

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subjugate British  

/ ˈsʌbdʒʊˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. to bring into subjection

2. to make subservient or submissive

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subjugation
  noun
• subjugator
  noun
• nonsubjugable
  adjective
• self-subjugating
  adjective
• subjugable
  adjective
• unsubjugated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• subjugating
  present
• subjugated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• subjugate
  simple
• subjugates
  simple
• have subjugated
  perfect
• has subjugated
  perfect
• am subjugating
  progressive
• are subjugating
  progressive
• is subjugating
  progressive
• have been subjugating
  perfect progressive
• has been subjugating
  perfect progressive

Past

• subjugated
  simple
• had subjugated
  perfect
• was subjugating
  progressive
• were subjugating
  progressive
• had been subjugating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will subjugate
  simple
• will have subjugated
  perfect
• will be subjugating
  progressive
• will have been subjugating
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subjugate subjugates subjugated subjugating

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

Gerwig made Louisa May Alcott’s language her own for 2019’s “Little Women” and I don’t expect her to subjugate her signature voice to C.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026

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 is, perhaps, a double whammy: The hierarchy that subjugates her also shames her.

From New York Times ● Sep. 17, 2021

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

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

But the Gilbert Island dance leads on the mind; it thrills, rouses, subjugates; it has the essence of all art, an unexplored imminent significance.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 18 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson

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

Catanzaro Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, one of Italy's best-known anti-Mafia investigators, said in a press conference that regional politicians and public administrators had been "subjugated" by mobsters during 2014-2020.

From Reuters ● Jun. 27, 2023

“We’re not the subjugated and disenfranchised people that we were,” he said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2023

Over the course of the next 15 years, New Zealand was convulsed by the so-called Musket Wars, as musketless tribes either acquired muskets or were subjugated by tribes already armed with them.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

However, once Hernán Cortés triumphed, the conquistadors went from waging war — vanquishing the Aztecs — to the project of subjugating Indigenous holdouts and building a self-sustaining territory loyal to the crown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026

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

In nearly every tale that involves a subjugating force, the individual bucking the system may win the day but lose the war.

From Salon ● Dec. 29, 2025

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

So he deferred the war against the Bactrians to another opportunity, and led his army back, after subjugating in 17 years all the nations of Asia, with the exception of the Indians and Bactrians.

From The History of Antiquity, Vol. II (of VI) by Max Duncker

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Related Words

• conquer
• enslave

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