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
The legions of the Roman Republic set out to subdue the Mediterranean world in the name of the city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Assassination attempts can also warp how journalists cover a president’s opposition, and subdue how that opposition behaves.
From Slate ● Apr. 26, 2026
Man’s subliminal urge to destroy what he could neither subdue nor deify.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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
A masterpiece of bromantic woes, the movie subdues toxic masculinity and makes a case for men’s often dismissed necessity for platonic companionship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2020
It subdues the barbarous nations, while injustice arouses the weakest.
From The Philippines A Century Hence by Jos? Rizal
At the point the light became muted and subdued, and the noise from the crowd softened as they took in the spectacle.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Oil prices are well off highs hit during the fiercest fighting last spring thanks to subdued demand from China, Japan, India and Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Aluminum prices are expected to remain supported by a supply deficit in 2026, while still subdued alumina prices should continue to support smelting margins, he reckons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Speaking at the scene, the BBC's Phillip Norton said it was a "subdued" atmosphere, with police and emergency services "dotted along the sea wall as far as the eye can see".
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Nearly all the rabbits were very subdued and docile.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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
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
Thao held back a small crowd of bystanders while Chauvin and two other officers were subduing Floyd, who police suspected of using a counterfeit $20 bill at a nearby store.
From Reuters ● Aug. 7, 2023
Achelous took the form of a bull and attacked him fiercely, but Hercules was used to subduing bulls.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
