subdue
Americanverb (used with object)
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to conquer and bring into subjection.
Rome subdued Gaul.
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to overpower by superior force; overcome.
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to bring under mental or emotional control, as by persuasion or intimidation; render submissive.
- Synonyms:
- suppress, discipline, break, tame
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to repress (feelings, impulses, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- suppress
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to bring (land) under cultivation.
to subdue the wilderness.
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to reduce the intensity, force, or vividness of (sound, light, color, etc.); tone down; soften.
- Antonyms:
- intensify
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to allay (inflammation, infection, etc.).
verb
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to establish ascendancy over by force
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to overcome and bring under control, as by intimidation or persuasion
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to hold in check or repress (feelings, emotions, etc)
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to render less intense or less conspicuous
Related Words
See defeat.
Other Word Forms
- presubdue verb (used with object)
- subduable adjective
- subduableness noun
- subduably adverb
- subdual noun
- subduer noun
- subduingly adverb
- unsubduable adjective
Etymology
Origin of subdue
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English so(b)duen, so(b)dewen, from unattested Anglo-French soduer “to overcome,” from Old French soduire “to deceive, seduce,” from Latin subdūcere “to withdraw”; meaning in English (and Anglo-French ) from Latin subdere “to place beneath, subdue”; subduct
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.
January’s household spending data should show consumer activity starting 2026 at a subdued pace, while house price data is likely to confirm another strong monthly increase.
According to the incident report, an unspecified number of people tried to subdue him and eventually let him go “in hope that he would leave.”
From Los Angeles Times
President Buchanan, utterly failing to understand his country’s deep divisions, tried to subdue public opinion by labeling slavery’s expansion “a matter of but little practical importance.”
From Literature
Business spending also has been relatively subdued, particularly in industries exposed to the shift toward protectionist trade policies by the U.S.,
The pixies were more subdued, and they began building nests for their winter sleep.
From Literature
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.
