subjugation

[suhb-juh-gey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act, fact, or process of subjugating, or bringing under control; enslavement.

   The subjugation of the American Indians happened across the country.

Other Word Forms

• nonsubjugation noun
• self-subjugation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of subjugation¹

First recorded in 1425–75; from Late Latin subjugation-, stem of subjugatio, equivalent to subjugat(us), past participle of subjugare “to make subject” + -io -ion ( def. ); subjugate ( def. )

Example Sentences

Koreans began immigrating to Los Angeles in the early 1900s as Korea lost independence to Japan, with a formal subjugation in 1910.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Like the Arch of Titus, this monument glorifies the destruction and subjugation of a conquered people.

Read more on Salon

For millennia, human history has consisted of repeated episodes of one group of people displacing another through expulsion, subjugation, genocide or other means.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

She allowed none of that here, tapping into the desperation of a woman whose self-worth is wrapped up in the subjugation of those around her.

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In fact, fascists in Europe, as you say, look to the Jim Crow laws of the South and the subjugation of Western Indian nations to inspire them and their race laws.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• beating 
• blow 
• breakdown 
• collapse 
• debacle 
• destruction 
• drubbing 
• embarrassment 
• failure 
• killing 
• loss 
• massacre 
• rout 
• setback 
• thrashing 
• triumph