as in conquest
the act or process of bringing someone or something under one's control
the subduing of the wild horse was accomplished by a method reputedly used by Plains Indians
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in defeating
to achieve a victory over
subdued her fear of the dark by joining a club for spelunkers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in conquering
to bring under one's control by force of arms
subdued the rebels and sent their leaders to the gallows
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in quelling
to put a stop to (something) by the use of force
labored through the night to subdue the river's rising waters by building a wall of sandbags around their property
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in noninflammatory
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in unemotional
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of subduing
Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
The two also showed a demonstration of what a K9 takedown looks like, with Humphries acting as a target and K9 Bob subduing him.
—Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
The Giants won in all kinds of encouraging ways while subduing the wild-card-leading Cubs in a 5-2 victory Tuesday night.
—Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
The two also showed a demonstration of what a K9 takedown looks like, with Humphries acting as a target and K9 Bob subduing him.
—Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subduing
Noun
-
In the early colonial period, publications often contained collections of high-profile personalities’ portraits, starting with the depiction of high-ranking Japanese colonial officials began in 1896, with an illustrated account of the Japanese conquest of the island.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
13 Sep. 2025
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Instead of conquest, the focus was intimacy—feeling the land under your feet, learning animal tracks, listening to the bush itself.—
Daniel Scheffler,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Auburn opened the season by defeating visiting Baylor by two touchdowns, a good win to begin with and one that looks better after the Bears outlasted SMU.—
Tom Layberger,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz won his second US Open title, defeating Italian rival Jannik Sinner in four thrilling sets.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Even after the company turned much of its attention towards other genres — conquering the planet with World of Warcraft — StarCraft 2 arrived in 2010 to critical and player acclaim.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
My mission in life is to empower leaders to cultivate inner mastery and empathy, knowing that true strength comes from conquering inner battles and developing a growth mindset.—
Dr. Adil Dalal,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Giddey also took a significant step toward quelling concerns about him as a shooter.—
Bobby Krivitsky,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
The Dalai Lama has been the key figure quelling violence when grassroots dissatisfaction has escalated into episodic uprisings in Tibet.—
Tenzin Dorjee,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Mineral formulas also tend to be fragrance-free, noncomedogenic, and noninflammatory, says Dr. Engelman.—
Brigitt Earley,
Glamour,
21 Feb. 2024
-
Burgum, 67 years old and known for a casual style and noninflammatory rhetoric, was never a significant presence in the race.—
John McCormick,
WSJ,
5 Dec. 2023
Adjective
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Up until the 17th century, people thought dogs were little more than unemotional machines that could not feel pain, either emotional or physical.—
Dawn Kovell,
Mercury News,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Becton appeared calm and unemotional about the situation, the affidavit states.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 July 2025
Noun
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Just one week after wowing spectators at the US Open with her dominating and inspiring tennis skills, Coco Gauff shifted her razor-sharp focus to her other passion—fashion.—
Paul Chi,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
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The strange power of a three-decade-old song dominating summer playlists is no accident.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The movie adaptation is also rife with metaphors about boys becoming men and overcoming life-or-death circumstances to make it out the other side.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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But in reality, deepfakes are getting better and the threat industry has many years of experience in honing lures to trick people, playing on emotions and overcoming natural suspicions and objections.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subduing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subduing. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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