as in to subdue
to bring under one's control by force of arms
explorers who subjugated the natives in the name of religion
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Recent Examples of subjugate
Its power-hungry men have made laws that subjugate women to follow an extreme set of laws that essentially gives the government total control of their bodies.
—
Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 7 Nov. 2025
The Spanish subjugated and enslaved the indigenous population of the Canaries—the Guanches—exporting some of them to Madeira or Europe, while others were forced to labor on Canarian sugar plantations.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men?
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Roberts performs as Yale philosophy Professor Alma, the self-righteousness that dazzles in her eyes subjugates Edebiri as Maggie, her self-effacing star pupil.
—Malik Peay, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subjugate
Taryn Finley, Refinery29, 7 Nov. 2025
The Spanish subjugated and enslaved the indigenous population of the Canaries—the Guanches—exporting some of them to Madeira or Europe, while others were forced to labor on Canarian sugar plantations.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men?
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Roberts performs as Yale philosophy Professor Alma, the self-righteousness that dazzles in her eyes subjugates Edebiri as Maggie, her self-effacing star pupil.
—Malik Peay, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subjugate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subjugate
Verb
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Colleyville Heritage dumps Argyle in 2 OTs Colleyville Heritage got a hugh lay in by Sameer Johnson at the fourth quarter buzzer, off an assist by Dmauri Evans, to tie the game at 48 allowing the Panthers to subdue Argyle 57-51 in double overtime on Thursday.—
Darren Lauber,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Jan. 2026
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Nevertheless, the immediate market response to the recent earnings report was relatively subdued.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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While some apps are experimental or low-effort, the approach mirrors the early days of iOS and Android app stores, where quirky and test apps dominated before the ecosystem matured.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Jan. 2026
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The opposition dominates for spells but struggles to bypass his strong defence.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Skinny Pedro had conquered for each man in the camp the sacred right to choose how to confront his own death.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
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That, plus some Sunday morning news interviews and a shot at conquering Cuba, and all for the bargain basement price of one soul.—
Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Between 1995 and 2015, both publications—which have a combined circulation of some eighty thousand Canadian family doctors and pharmacists—regularly ran columns from the Motherisk team without subjecting them to peer review.—
Ben Taub,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
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While the Jacksonian program helped produce a massive depression, the Jacksonians’ intention was to accelerate capitalism by democratizing it, not to tame it by subjecting it to government planning.—
Walter Russell Mead,
The Atlantic,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch also spoke before his squad defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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These therapies are not universally successful, of course, but can often save lives and defeat cancers where other methods are unsuccessful.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subjugate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subjugate. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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