SUBDUE

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does subdue mean? 

• SUBDUE (verb)
  The verb SUBDUE has 6 senses:

1. put down by force or intimidation
2. to put down by force or authority
3. hold within limits and control
4. get on top of; deal with successfully
5. make subordinate, dependent, or subservient
6. correct by punishment or discipline

  Familiarity information: SUBDUE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SUBDUE (verb)

Meaning:

Put down by force or intimidation

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

subdue; repress; quash; subjugate; keep down; reduce

Context examples:

The government quashes any attempt of an uprising / China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently / The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land

Hypernyms (to "subdue" is one way to...):

crush; oppress; suppress (come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Meaning:

To put down by force or authority

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

suppress; stamp down; inhibit; conquer; curb; subdue

Context examples:

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

Hypernyms (to "subdue" is one way to...):

check; contain; control; curb; hold; hold in; moderate (lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "subdue"):

blink; blink away; wink (force to go away by blinking)

muffle; repress; smother; stifle; strangle (conceal or hide)

quell; quench; squelch (suppress or crush completely)

silence (keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure)

burke (get rid of, silence, or suppress)

hush; hush up; quieten; shut up; silence; still (cause to be quiet or not talk)

choke back; choke down; choke off (suppress)

dampen; stifle (smother or suppress)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Meaning:

Hold within limits and control

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

cricify; mortify; subdue

Context examples:

subdue one's appetites / mortify the flesh

Hypernyms (to "subdue" is one way to...):

check; contain; control; curb; hold; hold in; moderate (lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits)

"Subdue" entails doing...:

abstain; desist; refrain (choose not to consume)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "subdue"):

mortify (practice self-denial of one's body and appetites)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Meaning:

Get on top of; deal with successfully

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

surmount; overcome; master; subdue; get over

Context example:

He overcame his shyness

Hypernyms (to "subdue" is one way to...):

defeat; get the better of; overcome (win a victory over)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "subdue"):

bulldog (throw a steer by seizing the horns and twisting the neck, as in a rodeo)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Make subordinate, dependent, or subservient

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

subordinate; subdue

Context example:

Our wishes have to be subordinated to that of our ruler

Hypernyms (to "subdue" is one way to...):

lour; lower (set lower)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Meaning:

Correct by punishment or discipline

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

tame; chasten; subdue

Hypernyms (to "subdue" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody