submissive
Americanadjective
-
inclined or ready to submit or yield to the authority of another; unresistingly or humbly obedient.
submissive servants.
- Antonyms:
- disobedient, rebellious
-
marked by or indicating submission or a yielding to the authority of another.
a submissive reply.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of submissive
Explanation
When animals live in packs, one animal is usually the dominant leader, while the others fall into more submissive roles. To be submissive is to obey or yield to someone else. When you are submissive, you submit to someone else's will, which literally, you put your own desires lower than theirs. You can see this in the Latin root of submit, submittere, which is formed by sub- "under" + mittere "send, put."
Vocabulary lists containing submissive
100 Top "SAT" Words
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Power Prefix: sub-
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Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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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.
Judges in places like Massachusetts were customarily paid by appropriation of the colonial legislature, which could withhold or delay payment to judges thought too submissive to British interests.
From Slate • Feb. 26, 2025
The character’s influence lies in her ability to observe and to be “totally alert” to everything happening around her during the conclave, but not in a submissive way.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 12, 2024
The eye-popping sum had sparked criticism and raised concerns that the board of Tesla was too submissive and close to Mr Musk.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2024
They did not allow Kat to be turned into a submissive girl because she fell in love.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2024
In the hope of being thus asked he had to tag along, patient and submissive.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
