subjugation
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of subjugation
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. ); see subjugate ( def. )
Explanation
Subjugation is like oppression or conquest: one group takes control over another and forces them to do as they're told. Subjugation is one of many types of injustice in the world. It has to do with one group of people dominating another group by taking away their freedom. When slavery was legal in the U.S., that was a clear-cut case of subjugation: African-Americans were forced to live without rights, under the control of their white owners. To remember this word, think of its Latin root subjugat, which means "brought under a yoke."
Vocabulary lists containing subjugation
Words from "The Avengers"
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The Pearl
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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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.
Scottish investors had tried to evade economic subjugation to England by setting up an empire of their own.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
Then-President Harry Truman's response was to commit US to support, in his words, "free peoples resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures".
From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026
The 14th and 15th Amendments were ratified to establish an enduring multiracial democracy, explicitly empowering Congress to end the subjugation of nonwhite Americans.
From Slate • Oct. 15, 2025
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.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2025
Now that he did, it was a startling thing, a dark catalog of subjugation and struggle.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
