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.

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. Charles Dickens:

    Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature.

  2. Army Colonel Luis Alberto Villamarín:

    He considered that by making a move like this he was going to subdue the ELN. Because the only means the ELN has to put pressure on the negotiating table is precisely their terrorist actions. And if the ELN commits to a bilateral ceasefire, that will prevent them from being strong on the negotiating table, the only argument the ELN has is terrorism and Mr. Petro thought that he could take that away from them, tying their hands.

  3. Brian Encinia:

    Bland began swinging her elbows at me and then kicked my right leg in the shin. I had a pain in my right leg and suffered small cuts on my right hand. Force was used to subdue Bland to the ground to which Bland continued to fight back.

  4. Sun Tzu:

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

  5. David Borenstein:

    One cannot subdue a man by holding back his hands. Lasting peace comes not from force.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Subdue#10000#54755#100000

Translations for Subdue

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"Subdue." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Subdue>.

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