What does subdue mean?

Definitions for subdue
səbˈdu, -ˈdyusub·due

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word subdue.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. repress, quash, keep down, subdue, subjugate, reduceverb

    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"

  2. suppress, stamp down, inhibit, subdue, conquer, curbverb

    to put down by force or authority

    "suppress a nascent uprising"; "stamp down on littering"; "conquer one's desires"

  3. mortify, subdue, crucifyverb

    hold within limits and control

    "subdue one's appetites"; "mortify the flesh"

  4. overcome, get over, subdue, surmount, masterverb

    get on top of; deal with successfully

    "He overcame his shyness"

  5. subordinate, subdueverb

    make subordinate, dependent, or subservient

    "Our wishes have to be subordinated to that of our ruler"

  6. tame, chasten, subdueverb

    correct by punishment or discipline

Wiktionary

  1. subdueverb

    To overcome, quieten, or bring under control.

  2. subdueverb

    To bring (a country) under control by force.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To SUBDUEverb

    Etymology: from subdo, or subjugo, Latin.

    Nothing could have subdu’d nature
    To such a lowness, but his unkind daughters. William Shakespeare.

    Them that rose up against me, hast thou subdued under me. 2 Sa. xxii. 40.

    If aught were worthy to subdue
    The soul of man. John Milton.

    Be fruitful, and replenish the earth, and subdue it. Gen. i. 28.

    Augustus Cæsar subdued Egypt to the Roman empire. Henry Peacham.

    To overcome in battle, and subdue
    Nations, and bring home spoils. John Milton.

    The Romans made those times the standard of their wit, when they subdued the world. Thomas Sprat.

    Nor is’t unwholsome to subdue the land
    By often exercise; and where before
    You broke the earth, again to plow. Thomas May, Virgil.

ChatGPT

  1. subdue

    Subdue generally means to overcome, bring under control or reduce the intensity or force of something. It can be applied in various contexts such as subduing a rebellious region, calming down strong emotions, or reducing the brightness of a color.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Subdueverb

    to bring under; to conquer by force or the exertion of superior power, and bring into permanent subjection; to reduce under dominion; to vanquish

  2. Subdueverb

    to overpower so as to disable from further resistance; to crush

  3. Subdueverb

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

  4. Subdueverb

    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. Subdueverb

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

  6. Subdueverb

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

  7. Subdueverb

    to make mellow; to break, as land; also, to destroy, as weeds

  8. Subdueverb

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

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Subdue

    sub-dū′, v.t. to conquer: to bring under dominion: to render submissive: to tame: to soften.—adj. Subdū′able.—n. Subdū′al, the act of subduing.—adj. Subdued′, toned down.—ns. Subdued′ness; Subdue′ment (Shak.), conquests; Subdū′er. [O. Fr. souduire—L. sub, under, ducĕre, to lead.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. subdue

    To bring under; to conquer by force or the exertion of superior power, and bring into permanent subjection; to reduce under dominion. To overpower so as to disable from further resistance; to crush.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of subdue in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of subdue in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of subdue in a Sentence

  1. Gelett Burgess:

    The use of force alone is but temporary. It may subdue for a moment but it does not remove the necessity of subduing again and a nation is not governed, which is perpetually to be conquered.

  2. Monique Bastos:

    Monique Bastos, an MMA fighter who was on Monique Bastos way to jiu-jitsu training, Esquire reported, said two men jumped Monique Bastos and stole Monique Bastos cellphone on a crowded street in Acailandia, Brazil. One fled, but Monique Bastos said Monique Bastos managed to personally subdue the other. I tried to hold my phone, and I realized they were not armed. When they tried to escape, I lifted the rear wheel of the bike and they fell on the ground. The guy who took my phone ran away, but I was able to get the other one.

  3. John Locke:

    Tis a Mistake to think this Fault [tyranny] is proper only to Monarchies; other Forms of Government are liable to it, as well as that. For where-ever the Power that is put in any hands for the Government of the People, and the Preservation of their Properties, is applied to other ends, and made use of to impoverish, harass, or subdue them to the Arbitrary and Irregular Commands of those that have it: There it presently becomes Tyranny, whether those that thus use it are one or many.

  4. Vladimir Putin:

    They do not want to humiliate us, they want to subdue us, solve their problems at our expense, No one in history ever managed to achieve this with Russia, and no one ever will.

  5. unknown:

    The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

subdue#10000#54755#100000

Translations for subdue

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"subdue." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/subdue>.

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