Synonyms

subdue

American

[suhb-doo, -dyoo] / səbˈdu, -ˈdju /

verb (used with object)

to conquer and bring into subjection.

Rome subdued Gaul.

Synonyms:

vanquish, subjugate
to overpower by superior force; overcome.
to bring under mental or emotional control, as by persuasion or intimidation; render submissive.

Synonyms:

suppress, discipline, break, tame
to repress (feelings, impulses, etc.).

Synonyms:

suppress

Antonyms:

arouse, awaken
to bring (land) under cultivation.

to subdue the wilderness.
to reduce the intensity, force, or vividness of (sound, light, color, etc.); tone down; soften.

Antonyms:

intensify
to allay (inflammation, infection, etc.).

subdue British

/ səbˈdjuː /

verb

to establish ascendancy over by force
to overcome and bring under control, as by intimidation or persuasion
to hold in check or repress (feelings, emotions, etc)
to render less intense or less conspicuous

"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

Synonym Usage

See defeat.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing subdue

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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.

Subdue the nastiness, hide the labor, ward off the darkness?

From Slate • Sep. 28, 2012

Even before Alberto-Culver finished developing its Subdue dandruff shampoo, the admen had filmed the TV commercials.

From Time Magazine Archive

Subdue your pride, which, as Aeschylus says, 'is the son of happiness and devours his father.'

From Time Magazine Archive

Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you’ve conquered human natur.

From Dickens As an Educator by Hughes, James L. (James Laughlin)

Subdue, to, root DAM, Aryan words for, iv.

From Chips from a German Workshop - Volume IV Essays chiefly on the Science of Language by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023