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:
Their venom and bites evolved to subdue prey that is far smaller than a human.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Fritz, seeded third in the 500-level hard court tournament, needed five match points to subdue the 24th-ranked teen and capture his 11th title, and his first since Eastbourne last year.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Assassination attempts can also warp how journalists cover a president’s opposition, and subdue how that opposition behaves.
From Slate ● Apr. 26, 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
Finally, the officer driving a van that ferries disabled inmates and others around Sing Sing jumped out and helped subdue the man.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
In person, Huang subdues his ironic braggadocio with polite eye contact and rolling belly laughs at his own jokes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
We don’t yet know how MiniFlayer subdues its helper, or whether MindFlayer has evolved countermeasures.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2023
He cited Philippine national hero Jose Rizal’s description of justice “as the foremost virtue of the civilizing races. It subdues the barbarous nations while injustice arouses the weakest.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 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
Yet there is something about you that subdues me and renders hatred impossible.
From Mrs. Geoffrey by Duchess
Adlakha singles out the quiet close-ups of Anghlong Konyak, the first-time actor who plays the chief, and the "gentleness" with which Rio captures his "subdued rage".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Right now, stocks have been cushioned from rising bond yields because earnings growth has offset the P/E multiple contraction caused by higher rates, while bond-market volatility has remained subdued.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
The company said there was "opportunity for profitable growth" through home deliveries, which could help boost trade after Primark reported subdued sales following the recent hot weather.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Asian stock markets were slightly subdued given the U.S. holiday overnight, even as the Japanese yen continued to strengthen against the dollar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
They elevated me from all littleness of feeling, and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquillised it.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
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
The girl was like a sister to him, but, if he needed help beating up a gang of thugs or subduing a victory goddess, Piper was not the first person he’d turn to.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
