as in muted
not excessively showy
the wedding was a subdued affair, with only close family and friends attending
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in defeated
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 dominated
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 suppressed
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of subdued
Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
And the extra-vibrant color chips present tend to make all the others look much more subdued in comparison.
—Tessa Cooper, Southern Living, 15 May 2026
James Powel, USA Today, 18 May 2026
The thin layer of this paint looked nice and subdued under this dark spot on our porch.
—Tessa Cooper, Southern Living, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for subdued
Adjective
The response was more subdued when, in the fourth round, the San Francisco 49ers selected Prysock.
—Dan Greene, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
And the extra-vibrant color chips present tend to make all the others look much more subdued in comparison.
—Tessa Cooper, Southern Living, 15 May 2026
Verb
Aside from the occasional siren and the presence of television crews along the sidewalk, the atmosphere was subdued and traffic around the hospital continued to move steadily.
—James Powel, USA Today, 18 May 2026
The thin layer of this paint looked nice and subdued under this dark spot on our porch.
—Tessa Cooper, Southern Living, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for subdued
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subdued
Adjective
-
Other makeup elements, provided by artist Alex Babsky, included bold brows and lined eyes with a muted rosy lip.—
Julia Teti,
Footwear News,
28 May 2026
-
Being in place at moonrise is important because seeing a muted orange moon rising over a landscape is a far more special sight than a big, bright orb high up in a black sky.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
DeGette has defeated primary challengers before, but this time her opponents have lined up long endorsement rosters.—
Elliott Wenzler,
Denver Post,
31 May 2026
-
McKendree University defeated Cal State San Marcos 4-3 Sunday to eliminate the Cougars and advance to the best-of-three series to determine the NCAA Division II softball champions.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Ahead of the endorsement vote, Klobuchar supporters holding batons with flashing green lights dominated the convention floor.—
Alex Derosier,
Twin Cities,
30 May 2026
-
On the other hand, nonbiological chemistry is more limited and dominated by molecules that form randomly.—
Gideon Yoffe,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
People were craving the culture and art that had been suppressed during his oppressive reign.—
Althea Legaspi,
Rolling Stone,
27 May 2026
-
The Supreme Court spent much of the January oral arguments grappling with the biological advantage men tend to have over women in sports, and whether there is validity to claims that a man’s biological advantage can be suppressed by hormone drugs.—
Jack Birle,
The Washington Examiner,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Flowering woody shrubs that bloom on new wood tolerate or thrive on fairly aggressive pruning, while those that bloom on old wood require more careful, restrained pruning.—
Marie Iannotti,
The Spruce,
29 May 2026
-
Even out of context, the first meeting at the train station of Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard is ineffably moving, a model of restrained desire.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
End-of-grade assessments are meant to measure if students have mastered the grade-appropriate content laid out in the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2026
-
Rather than hiring dozens of new staffers to helm these properties, the media companies are trying to find areas of expertise already mastered by current employees.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
The inventor of the Basque cheesecake, a dessert that has conquered the world, will retire next year, leaving behind a legacy that has reshaped menus globally.—
Jeronimo Gonzalez,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
-
Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger conquered DWTS season 10 with Derek Hough, and she's been unstoppable ever since.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
While the emergency response quelled the threat of a violent explosion as of Monday night, 16,000 residents, largely from the city of Stanton, were still unable to return home until all evacuation orders were lifted Tuesday evening.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
-
Intense protests related to economic issues broke out in Iran in early 2026, but were harshly quelled.—
Alex Sundby,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subdued.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subdued. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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