subsume

[suhb-soom]

verb (used with object)

subsumed, subsuming 

1. to consider or include (an idea, term, proposition, etc.) as part of a more comprehensive one.

2. to bring (a case, instance, etc.) under a rule.

3. to take up into a more inclusive classification.

subsume

/ səbˈsjuːm /

verb

1. to incorporate (an idea, proposition, case, etc) under a comprehensive or inclusive classification or heading

2. to consider (an instance of something) as part of a general rule or principle

Other Word Forms

• subsumable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of subsume¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Medieval Latin subsūmere, equivalent to Latin sub- “under, below, beneath”; + sūmere “to take”; sub-, consume

Word History and Origins

Origin of subsume¹

C16: from New Latin subsumere, from Latin _sub- + sumere to take

Example Sentences

Even more consequential was the trust that the Barbers placed in Marshall Stearns, who had an academic pedigree in medieval literature and a subsuming interest in the ethnomusicology of jazz.

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The idea wasn’t to subsume or co-opt the radicals, but to delegitimize them.

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It's a vital question at a time when artificial intelligence threatens to subsume Hollywood.

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A woman in her position could very easily allow herself to be subsumed by the mechanism that protects celebrity.

Read more on Salon

Matsumoto emphasizes the institutional aspect of our times by showing how the identities of individuals have become subsumed by their jobs.

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