subdue
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
Related Words
See defeat.
Other Word Forms
- presubdue verb (used with object)
- subduable adjective
- subduableness noun
- subduably adverb
- subdual noun
- subduer noun
- subduingly adverb
- unsubduable adjective
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”; subduct
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.
“This will do nothing to relieve the pressure on household finances and means consumer sentiment stays subdued,” he wrote in a note.
From MarketWatch
As a victim of increasingly effective gunnery, Arundel also epitomized another development that would expedite the end of England’s sporadic efforts to subdue the rival realm.
Anti-Indianism has been notably subdued on the campaign trail - not because it has faded, but because every political contender knows that a reset with India is unavoidable.
From BBC
At brands that target older demographics, such as Jones Road, Saie and Counter, color palettes are “generally subdued.”
From MarketWatch
Layoffs ticked higher at the end of last year, but remain relatively subdued overall.
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.
