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. 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.

  2. David Borenstein:

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

  3. 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.

  4. Mouaz Moustafa:

    You had maybe four or five people that were trying to subdue him while the flight attendant was kind of trying to knock him out by bashing him repeatedly on the head with the coffee pot over and over again until he was finally down; there was blood, everything, and people still had to pin him down until we landed.

  5. Mouaz Moustafa:

    He was attacking the crew and the passengers that were trying to subdue him and really just trying to get into the cockpit and then try to open the plane's door in the emergency sort of latch, he grabbed the plane's exit door. He's a big guy… the air pressure maybe probably makes it almost impossible to open the door, but he actually, like, kind of shifted it a few inches, and that was scary.

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Translations for subdue

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"subdue." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 Jun 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/subdue>.

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