SUBDUE

tame, chasten, subdue

(verb) correct by punishment or discipline

suppress, stamp down, subdue, conquer

(verb) bring under control by force or authority; “suppress a nascent uprising”; “stamp down on littering”; “conquer one’s desires”

subordinate, subdue

(verb) make subordinate, dependent, or subservient; “Our wishes have to be subordinated to that of our ruler”

overcome, get over, subdue, surmount, master

(verb) get on top of; deal with successfully; “He overcame his shyness”

mortify, subdue, crucify

(verb) hold within limits and control; “subdue one’s appetites”; “mortify the flesh”

repress, quash, keep down, subdue, subjugate, reduce

(verb) put down by force or intimidation; “The government quashes any attempt of an uprising”; “China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently”; “The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

subdue (third-person singular simple present subdues, present participle subduing, simple past and past participle subdued)

To overcome, quieten, or bring under control.

To bring (a country) under control by force.

Synonyms

• underbring

Source: Wiktionary


Sub*due", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Subdued; p. pr. & vb. n. Subduing.] Etym: [OE. soduen, OF. sosduire to seduce, L. subtus below (fr. sub under) + ducere to lead. See Duke, and cf. Subduct.]

1. To bring under; to conquer by force or the exertion of superior power, and bring into permanent subjection; to reduce under dominion; to vanquish. I will subdue all thine enemies. 1 Chron. xvii. 10.

2. To overpower so as to disable from further resistance; to crush. Nothing could have subdued nature To such a lowness, but his unkind daughters. Shak. If aught . . . were worthy to subdue The soul of man. Milton.

3. To destroy the force of; to overcome; as, medicines subdue a fever.

4. To render submissive; to bring under command; to reduce to mildness or obedience; to tame; as, to subdue a stubborn child; to subdue the temper or passions.

5. To overcome, as by persuasion or other mild means; as, to subdue opposition by argument or entreaties.

6. To reduce to tenderness; to melt; to soften; as, to subdue ferocity by tears.

7. To make mellow; to break, as land; also, to destroy, as weeds.

8. To reduce the intensity or degree of; to tone down; to soften; as, to subdue the brilliancy of colors.

Syn.

– To conquer; overpower; overcome; surmount; vanquish. See Conquer.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

23 December 2024

QUANDONG

(noun) Australian tree having hard white timber and glossy green leaves with white flowers followed by one-seeded glossy blue fruit


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, on 25 September 2016, the Birla Institute of Management Technology (India) in Uttar Pradesh, India, constructed the largest coffee cups pyramid consisting of 23,821 cups. They used paper takeaway coffee cups to build the pyramid.

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