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Showing results for submissive. Search instead for nonsubmissive.
Synonyms

submissive

American  
[suhb-mis-iv] / səbˈmɪs ɪv /

adjective

  1. inclined or ready to submit or yield to the authority of another; unresistingly or humbly obedient.

    submissive servants.
    Synonyms:
    amenable, pliant, compliant, tractable
    Antonyms:
    disobedient, rebellious

  2. marked by or indicating submission or a yielding to the authority of another.

    a submissive reply.
    Synonyms:
    subdued, tame, docile, patient, resigned, passive

noun

  1. Informal, sub.  the participant in a BDSM sexual encounter or relationship who is obedient, giving power and control to another participant.

submissive British  
/ səbˈmɪsɪv /

adjective

  1. of, tending towards, or indicating submission, humility, or servility

"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

Other Word Forms

  • nonsubmissive adjective
  • nonsubmissively adverb
  • nonsubmissiveness noun
  • quasi-submissive adjective
  • quasi-submissively adverb
  • submissively adverb
  • submissiveness noun
  • unsubmissive adjective
  • unsubmissively adverb
  • unsubmissiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of submissive

First recorded in 1580–90; submiss + -ive

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.

In reality, this win against a submissive Spurs was simply a step on the road from Anfield's anticipation to the glorious realisation that the prize was theirs.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2025

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

There are "tradwives," who cosplay submissive housewives on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2024

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

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.