conquest

[kon-kwest, kong-]

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

/ 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

Conquest

²

/ ˈkɒnkwɛst, ˈkɒŋ- /

noun

1. See Norman Conquest

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

Other Word Forms

• postconquest adjective
• reconquest noun
• self-conquest noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of conquest¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of conquest¹

C13: from Old French conqueste, from Vulgar Latin conquēsta (unattested), from Latin conquīsīta, feminine past participle of conquīrere to seek out, procure; see _conquer

Synonym Study

See victory.

Example Sentences

If Pericles’ funeral oration is a landmark of democratic virtue, the amoral facts of pure force become explicit in the “Melian dialogue” following the Athenian conquest of the neutral island of Melos in 415 B.C.:

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Despite his imperiousness, at his best Wittgenstein was more concerned with the integrity of the intellectual quest than the glory of philosophical conquest.

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After the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, Mexico’s European overlords used its silver and its agricultural wealth to nourish their global enterprises.

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“It is also a tribute to the pharaoh. Thutmosis III is the son of the sun. The obelisk will be a monument proclaiming the glory of his conquests and a testament to his accomplishments.”

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This Winthropism, for the next two centuries, would be used as justification for “Western conquest of Native Americans, enslavement of Africans, and colonization of everyone else.”

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Related Words

• annexation 
• invasion 
• occupation 
• rout 
• subjugation