submissive

adjective

sub·​mis·​sive səb-ˈmi-siv 

: submitting to others

submissive employees

submissively adverb

submissiveness noun

Synonyms

• amenable
• biddable
• compliant
• conformable
• docile
• law-abiding
• obedient
• tractable

Examples of submissive in a Sentence

it's not in her nature to be submissive

Recent Examples on the Web

Gyllenhaal’s role as a submissive secretary in a BDSM relationship with her boss, played by James Spader, was hailed as a breakthrough performance. —Keith Langston, Peoplemag, 24 Nov. 2023

Asian gay males are often perceived as submissive, less masculine and lacking testosterone. —Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 2023

The goal is to create a more ideologically submissive civil service that will carry out whatever Trump orders, even if those orders are legally dubious. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 2 Nov. 2023

Disconnected from reality, the eternal image of a kind mother and a submissive daughter-in-law, the woman is more like a beautiful prop. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023

The character was the spiritual descendant of Madame Butterfly, a stereotypically submissive Asian woman who is tragically deserted by a domineering white man. —Mayukh Sen, The New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2023

Hopper also added a crucial nuance: At some point during rape, most victims revert to habits, usually passive or submissive ones, that have been conditioned by culture or abuse. —Jen Percy, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2023

Bondage and Discipline: BDSM practice incorporates bondage (tying, binding, or restraining someone) and discipline (punishing a submissive partner). —Dominique Fluker, Essence, 7 Sep. 2023

And male mice that are housed together establish a dominance hierarchy, with alpha males expressing more than 10 times as much testosterone as the submissive ones. —Azeen Ghorayshi, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2023

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

submissive

adjective

sub·​mis·​sive səb-ˈmis-iv 

: inclined or willing to submit to others : yielding

submissively adverb

submissiveness noun

Etymology

from Latin submissus, past participle of submittere "to let down," from sub- "under, below" and mittere "to send, throw" — related to message

Medical Definition

submissive

adjective

sub·​mis·​sive səb-ˈmis-iv 

: characterized by tendencies to yield to the will or authority of others

bullying usually involves a stronger, more dominant personality coercing a weaker, more submissive personality

—S. W. Twemlow et al.

submissiveness noun