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conquer

[kong-ker]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to acquire by force of arms; win in war: to conquer a foreign land.
  2. to overcome by force; subdue: to conquer an enemy.
  3. to gain, win, or obtain by effort, personal appeal, etc.: conquer the hearts of his audience.
  4. to gain a victory over; surmount; master; overcome: to conquer disease and poverty; to conquer one's fear.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to be victorious; make conquests; gain the victory: Despite their differences, their love will conquer.
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Origin of conquer

1200–50; Middle English conqueren < Anglo-French conquerir, Old French conquerre < Vulgar Latin *conquērere to acquire (for Latin conquīrere to seek out). See con-, query
Related formscon·quer·a·ble, adjectivecon·quer·a·ble·ness, nouncon·quer·ing·ly, adverbhalf-con·quered, adjectivepre·con·quer, verb (used with object)re·con·quer, verb (used with object)un·con·quer·a·ble, adjectiveun·con·quer·a·bly, adverbun·con·quered, adjective

Synonyms

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2. vanquish, overpower, overthrow, subjugate.

Synonym study

2. See defeat.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for conquered

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • After the Greeks came the Persians, who conquered all of northern Africa.

    Ancient Man

    Hendrik Willem van Loon

  • There is crime to be conquered, the rough crime of the streets.

  • We have not conquered these fears of pain—rather their cause has been removed.

  • Under the urge of it, he conquered—at last brought himself and his charge to the shore.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • Even Enobarbus is conquered at the last by Antony's noble magnanimity.

British Dictionary definitions for conquered

conquer

verb
  1. to overcome (an enemy, army, etc); defeat
  2. to overcome (an obstacle, feeling, desire, etc); surmount
  3. (tr) to gain possession or control of by or as if by force or war; win
  4. (tr) to gain the love, sympathy, etc, of (someone) by seduction or force of personality
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Derived Formsconquerable, adjectiveconquerableness, nounconquering, adjectiveconqueror, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Old French conquerre, from Vulgar Latin conquērere (unattested) to obtain, from Latin conquīrere to search for, collect, from quaerere to seek
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

Word Origin and History for conquered

conquer

v.

c.1200, cunquearen, from Old French conquerre "conquer, defeat, vanquish," from Vulgar Latin *conquaerere (for Latin conquirere) "to search for, procure by effort, win," from Latin com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + quaerere "to seek, gain" (see query (v.)). Related: Conquered; conquering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with conquered

conquer

see divide and conquer.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.