subject

noun

sub·ject | \ ˈsəb-jikt

, -(ˌ)jekt\

Definition of subject

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : one that is placed under authority or control: such as

a : vassal

b(1) : one subject to a monarch and governed by the monarch's law

(2) : one who lives in the territory of, enjoys the protection of, and owes allegiance to a sovereign power or state

2a : that of which a quality, attribute, or relation may be affirmed or in which it may inhere

b : substratum especially : material or essential substance

c : the mind, ego, or agent of whatever sort that sustains or assumes the form of thought or consciousness

3a : a department of knowledge or learning

b : motive, cause

c(1) : one that is acted on the helpless subject of their cruelty

(2) : an individual whose reactions or responses are studied

(3) : a dead body for anatomical study and dissection

(4) : a person who has engaged in activity that a federal prosecutor has identified as being within the scope of a federal grand jury investigation Most white-collar criminal defendants started out as subjects of a grand jury investigation," said Bruce Green, a former federal prosecutor and a law professor at Fordham.— Adam Serwer

d(1) : something concerning which something is said or done the subject of the essay

(2) : something represented or indicated in a work of art

e(1) : the term of a logical proposition that denotes the entity of which something is affirmed or denied also : the entity denoted

(2) : a word or word group denoting that of which something is predicated

f : the principal melodic phrase on which a musical composition or movement is based

subject

adjective

Definition of subject (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : owing obedience or allegiance to the power or dominion of another

2a : suffering a particular liability or exposure subject to temptation

b : having a tendency or inclination : prone subject to colds

3 : contingent on or under the influence of some later action the plan is subject to discussion

subject

verb

sub·ject | \ səb-ˈjekt

, ˈsəb-ˌjekt\

subjected; subjecting; subjects

Definition of subject (Entry 3 of 3)

transitive verb

1a : to bring under control or dominion : subjugate

b : to make (someone, such as oneself) amenable to the discipline and control of a superior

2 : to make liable : predispose

3 : to cause or force to undergo or endure (something unpleasant, inconvenient, or trying) was subjected to constant verbal abuse

Other Words from subject Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about subject

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Other Words from subject

Noun

subjectless \ ˈsəb-jikt-ləs

, -(ˌ)jekt- \ adjective

Verb

subjection \ səb-ˈjek-shən

\ noun

Choose the Right Synonym for subject

Noun

citizen, subject, national mean a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state. citizen is preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people. the rights of a free citizen subject implies allegiance to a personal sovereign such as a monarch. the king's subjects national designates one who may claim the protection of a state and applies especially to one living or traveling outside that state. American nationals working in the Middle East

Adjective

liable, open, exposed, subject, prone, susceptible, sensitive mean being by nature or through circumstances likely to experience something adverse. liable implies a possibility or probability of incurring something because of position, nature, or particular situation. liable to get lost open stresses a lack of barriers preventing incurrence. a claim open to question exposed suggests lack of protection or powers of resistance against something actually present or threatening. exposed to infection subject implies an openness for any reason to something that must be suffered or undergone. all reports are subject to review prone stresses natural tendency or propensity to incur something. prone to delay susceptible implies conditions existing in one's nature or individual constitution that make incurrence probable. very susceptible to flattery sensitive implies a readiness to respond to or be influenced by forces or stimuli. unduly sensitive to criticism

Examples of subject in a Sentence

Noun

The new museum is the subject of an article in today's paper. Death is a difficult subject that few people like to talk about. I need to break the news to her, but I'm not sure how to bring up the subject. If you're interested in linguistics, I know an excellent book on the subject. an excellent book on the subject of linguistics These meetings would be much shorter if we could keep him from getting off the subject. The morality of capital punishment is a frequent subject of debate. Chemistry was my favorite subject in high school. The classes cover a variety of subject areas, including mathematics and English.

Verb

Attila the Hun subjected most of Europe to his barbaric pillage.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Hired by the Vallejo Police Department in June 2015, Muniz-Bottomley was the subject of a claim filed against the city stemming from a March 2017 incident. — Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, "Judge orders Vallejo to release cop’s employment records in excessive force lawsuit," 10 Aug. 2019 Aside from new campuses, department staff can visit schools that have been the subject of complaints or have failed to meet program requirements within the previous two years. — Annie Martin, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida OKs 36 new private schools for voucher money vs. 151 two years ago, with visit requirement," 8 Aug. 2019 This drama — far from being confined to the pair’s home city — has been the subject of New York magazine rundowns and Brooklyn independent theater productions. — Kaitlyn Tiffany, Vox, "The story behind the best-known local jingle in America," 8 Aug. 2019 Trump tweeted a pair of clips from the segments late Monday, and continued to tweet about the subject Tuesday morning. — Josh Wingrove, Fortune, "Trump Says He’s Watching Google ‘Closely’ Ahead of Election," 6 Aug. 2019 Her novels appeared regularly on The New York Times best-seller list, were featured multiple times on Oprah Winfrey’s television book club and were the subject of myriad critical studies. — Essence, "Photos Of Toni Morrison's Life Through The Years," 6 Aug. 2019 In 2013, Carrera was the subject of a Change.org petition, which received more than 35,000 signatures, asking the company to make her the brand's first transgender model. — Krystin Arneson, Allure, "Valentina Sampaio Is Reportedly Victoria's Secret's First Openly Transgender Model," 4 Aug. 2019 The person familiar with the former president's thinking was granted anonymity to speak frankly about the politically sensitive subject. — Ed O'keefe, CBS News, "Obama unfazed by criticism at Democratic debate, source says," 1 Aug. 2019 Pei declined to discuss the matter, saying He's actions were the subject of an ongoing investigation. — Jon Cohen, Science | AAAS, "The untold story of the ‘circle of trust’ behind the world’s first gene-edited babies," 1 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

President Donald Trump had planned to implement a 10% import tax on $300 billion of Chinese imports not already subject to tariffs on September 1. — Clare Duffy, CNN, "New tariffs would have jacked up the price of iPhones. Delay buys time for Big Tech," 13 Aug. 2019 Unlike most of the migrants subject to this policy, the Honduran mother, helped by her family in the U.S., was able to find legal representation and housing in a motel in Ciudad Juárez. — Camilo Montoya-galvez, CBS News, ""I fear for our lives": Asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico face danger and desperation," 13 Aug. 2019 Roth IRAs provide further tax diversification, as the money in these accounts can be withdrawn free of taxes and penalties, subject to certain restrictions. — Russ Wiles, azcentral, "Trying too hard to minimize your tax burden can create consequences. Here's what to avoid," 11 Aug. 2019 Meanwhile, Chicago tax authorities wrote that car-sharing is subject to rental car taxes in response to questions from an Enterprise lawyer, according to a letter provided by the company. — Jonathan J. Cooper, The Denver Post, "“Leveling the playing field”: Increased popularity of car-sharing apps is fueling tax debate," 11 Aug. 2019 The Ordinance states that an offender is subject to a $250 fine by failing to comply and this fine may be applied every 30 days of not registering. — Laura Bednar, cleveland.com, "Independence works to gain compliance for rental registration," 11 Aug. 2019 Of course, split infinitives, dangling modifiers, and subject-verb disagreements have always appeared wherever words are uttered or keys are stroked. — Jake Cline, The Atlantic, "How Using Social Media Makes People Better Writers," 10 Aug. 2019 Other vehicle registration tips Vehicles made after 1996 that are kept in Sheboygan, Washington, Ozaukee, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties are also subject to emission tests. — Keith Schubert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin's car registration and title fees are going up," 9 Aug. 2019 But that data is hard to come by, often biased, and subject to varying interpretations. — Michael Tanner, National Review, "Some Thoughts on the El Paso Shooting," 7 Aug. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Big tech companies including Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. have come under fire for collecting audio snippets from consumer computing devices and subjecting those clips to human review, a practice that critics say invades privacy. — Sarah Frier / Bloomberg, Time, "Facebook Paid Contractors to Transcribe Audio of Its Users' Conversations," 15 Aug. 2019 As one example, the Milton school board approved a change from Redmen to Redhawks in 1999, and three board members who approved the change were then subjected to recall elections. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Resolution circulating among school boards calls for retiring Native American mascots," 14 Aug. 2019 Big tech companies including Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. have come under fire for collecting audio snippets from consumer computing devices and subjecting those clips to human review, a practice that critics say invades privacy. — Sarah Frierbloomberg, Los Angeles Times, "Facebook paid hundreds of contractors to transcribe users’ audio," 13 Aug. 2019 And companies like Toyota have warned that the president’s determination that foreign autos pose a national-security threat and may be subjected to tariffs could discourage additional investment. — Jim Tankersley, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump’s push to bring back jobs to US shows limited results," 13 Aug. 2019 And companies like Toyota have warned that the president’s determination that foreign autos pose a national-security threat and may be subjected to tariffs could discourage additional investment. — Jim Tankersley, New York Times, "Trump’s Push to Bring Back Jobs to U.S. Shows Limited Results," 13 Aug. 2019 Big tech companies including Amazon and Apple have come under fire for collecting audio snippets from consumer computing devices and subjecting those clips to human review, a practice that critics say invades privacy. — Sarah Frier, Fortune, "Facebook Stops Recording Users’ Audio, as Contract Transcriptionists Express Ethical Concerns," 13 Aug. 2019 In March 2018, there were reports that other United players were stunning by the ‘bullying’ that Mourinho was said to be subjecting Shaw to following another public humiliation. — SI.com, "Jose Mourinho Re-Opens Old Wounds With Luke Shaw Criticism in Debut as Sky Sports Pundit," 12 Aug. 2019 Here are just some of the zingers Fancy Farm attendees have been treated to -- or maybe subjected to -- through the years. — Joseph Gerth, The Courier-Journal, "Quips, quotes and one-liners: The 50 greatest zingers from 50 years of Fancy Farm," 30 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'subject.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for subject

Noun

Middle English suget, subget, from Anglo-French, from Latin subjectus one under authority & subjectum subject of a proposition, from masculine & neuter respectively of subjectus, past participle of subicere to subject, literally, to throw under, from sub- + jacere to throw — more at jet

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Dictionary Entries near subject

Statistics for subject

Last Updated

15 Aug 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for subject

The first known use of subject was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for subject

subject

noun

English Language Learners Definition of subject

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the person or thing that is being discussed or described

: an area of knowledge that is studied in school

: a person or thing that is being dealt with in a particular way

subject

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of subject (Entry 2 of 2)

: under the control of a ruler

See the full definition for subject in the English Language Learners Dictionary

subject

noun

sub·ject | \ ˈsəb-jikt

Kids Definition of subject

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : the person or thing discussed : topic She's the subject of rumors. Let's change the subject.

2 : an area of knowledge that is studied in school Geography is my favorite subject.

3 : a person who owes loyalty to a monarch or state

4 : a person under the authority or control of another

5 : the word or group of words about which the predicate makes a statement

6 : a person or animal that is studied or experimented on

subject

adjective

Kids Definition of subject (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : owing obedience or loyalty to another The people were subject to their king.

2 : possible or likely to be affected by The schedule is subject to change. The area is subject to flooding.

3 : depending on I'll send the samples subject to your approval.

subject

verb

sub·ject | \ səb-ˈjekt

subjected; subjecting

Kids Definition of subject (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : to bring under control or rule The Romans subjected much of Europe.

2 : to cause to put up with My parents are unwilling to subject us to embarrassment.

subject

noun

sub·ject | \ ˈsəb-jikt

Medical Definition of subject

1 : an individual whose reactions or responses are studied

2 : a dead body for anatomical study and dissection

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subject

noun

sub·ject | \ ˈsəb-ˌjekt

Legal Definition of subject

: the person upon whose life a life insurance policy is written and upon whose death the policy is payable : insured — compare beneficiary sense b, policyholder