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as in to win
to achieve victory (as in a contest) a coach who demands that his team conquer, whatever the cost

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb conquer differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of conquer are defeat, overcome, overthrow, reduce, subdue, and vanquish. While all these words mean "to get the better of by force or strategy," conquer implies gaining mastery of.

Caesar conquered Gaul

How do defeat and vanquish relate to one another, in the sense of conquer?

Defeat does not imply the finality or completeness of vanquish which it otherwise equals.

the Confederates defeated the Union forces at Manassas

When would overcome be a good substitute for conquer?

The words overcome and conquer are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, overcome suggests getting the better of with difficulty or after hard struggle.

overcame a host of bureaucratic roadblocks

When can overthrow be used instead of conquer?

The meanings of overthrow and conquer largely overlap; however, overthrow stresses the bringing down or destruction of existing power.

violently overthrew the old regime

When is reduce a more appropriate choice than conquer?

Although the words reduce and conquer have much in common, reduce implies a forcing to capitulate or surrender.

the city was reduced after a month-long siege

Where would subdue be a reasonable alternative to conquer?

While the synonyms subdue and conquer are close in meaning, subdue implies a defeating and suppression.

subdued the native tribes after years of fighting

When is it sensible to use vanquish instead of conquer?

The synonyms vanquish and conquer are sometimes interchangeable, but vanquish implies a complete overpowering.

vanquished the enemy and ended the war

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conquer Reed Hastings may have conquered everything with his all-knowing algorithms and management principles, but No Rules Rules is best ingested by LLMs and MBAs, not rebels and romantics. Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 28 May 2025 Advances in biotechnology have all but conquered disease and aging. John Kaag, The Atlantic, 28 May 2025 Educate Yourself, And Be Prepared The very best way to conquer your business fear and build confidence as a leader is to do the work required to be at your best. Michelle Mekky, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025 Putnam was always photographed with famous people: standing next to Charles Lindbergh, first man to fly solo across the Atlantic; posing with Commander Byrd, the man who conquered the South Pole; smiling with Howard Carter, the man who discovered King Tut. / Cbs News, CBS News, 25 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for conquer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conquer
Verb
  • This is a game that will be dominating time on rec room TV or backseat car rides for years to come.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 6 June 2025
  • Silver did admit, however, that the ratings discussion that often dominates the conversation is an irritant for him.
    Sam Amick, New York Times, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • Skubal overcame a Tommy John procedure in college and a flexor tendon surgery earlier in his big-league career to become one of baseball’s elite pitchers.
    Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 30 May 2025
  • The odds remain against them — only 16.1% of teams have overcome a 3-2 deficit in NBA playoff history — but the Knicks are coming off their best all-around performance of the series.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
Verb
  • With Tiller on board, his OTE team actually won the league crown two years in a row.
    Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 June 2025
  • The Spaniard won 14 of his 22 major titles at Roland Garros.
    Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Verb
  • Investment spending picked up around 2016 but hit a wall with Covid, and has been subdued since.
    William Dunkelberg, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • One of the suspects had to be subdued with a stun gun.
    Jim Woods, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
Verb
  • Su-hun represents everything Mun-oh aspires to be, serving as both inspiration and source of secret envy that has left Mun-oh feeling perpetually defeated.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 May 2025
  • Florida is 48-15 on the season and defeated its conference foe, Georgia, in the Super Regional.
    Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
Verb
  • Brown is happy the game will be at CSUN instead of in the South Bay, where the previous two finals were played (at Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2023 and at Long Beach State last spring when Carson prevailed 1-0 in 14 innings despite Moorman’s 19 strikeouts).
    Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
  • The only question was whether someone else would beat him to it. Somer prevailed.
    Elise Taylor, Vogue, 28 May 2025
Verb
  • Foreign governments often engage in smear campaigns against anyone that does not toe the line, subjecting them to public excoriation and private surveillance.
    Schuyler Moore, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • Mengele sought out twins who arrived at Auschwitz in order to subject them to medical experiments.
    Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • There’s a belief that merely mastering a posture that keeps the battle alive, even if the defender successfully wipes the hand away while simultaneously bringing more power to the punches that do connect, can shift those win-rate averages from league worst to something more manageable.
    Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 2 June 2025
  • Maron will portray Chuck Plotkin, the producer who painstakingly mastered Springsteen’s pivotal 1982 album Nebraska.
    Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 2 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Conquer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conquer. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.

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