1
as in overcomes
to achieve a victory over
subdued her fear of the dark by joining a club for spelunkers
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in conquers
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 suppresses
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
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Recent Examples of subdues
Royd subdues and binds her before taking off to restore the power.
—
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025
For those who are more into curves than angles, the Bialetti Moon takes all the functional elements of the moka stovetop espresso maker and subdues them with a rounded stainless steel silhouette.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 10 Oct. 2025
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025
For those who are more into curves than angles, the Bialetti Moon takes all the functional elements of the moka stovetop espresso maker and subdues them with a rounded stainless steel silhouette.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 10 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subdues
Verb
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In contrast, the ABF crystal, designed and grown by Chinese scientists over more than a decade, overcomes many of these obstacles.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Feb. 2026
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After a sluggish start, Texas overcomes a 14-point deficit to tie the game before OU's Xzayvier Brown hits a 3-pointer to give his team the halftime lead.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Cruise down Market Street—skimming past buzzing tech hubs—while your autonomous vehicle conquers steep hills and tight turns with uncanny precision.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
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The winner of a duel conquers his opponent’s square, gaining more ground – the loser leaves the game.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This spatial separation suppresses charge recombination and lowers reaction energy barriers.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Feb. 2026
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The pattern suppresses storm systems, keeps skies mostly clear and summons above-normal temperatures for days at a time.—
Hayleigh Evans,
AZCentral.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If New England defeats the Seattle Seahawks, Vrabel will become the first person to ever win a Super Bowl as both a player and a head coach for the same franchise.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
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Gold Coast League co-champions Brentwood and Crossroads have already met twice and could meet a third time in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs if Brentwood defeats Fairmont Prep and Crossroads defeats Long Beach Poly.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That can be especially difficult for platforms like Amazon, which dominates the e-commerce market.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
7 Feb. 2026
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The Zayed—a sprawling, 900,000-square-foot space designed by British architecture firm Foster + Partners—dominates the skyline.—
John Arlidge,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While the presumption was always that Messi would renew with the Herons, the news quells any lingering anxiety.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Twenty years later, an adult Guinevere is building her ghostwriting career when her estranged artist brother announces an installation titled Mother, which quells disturbing revelations in Guinevere.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Stylist Chrissy Rasmussen masters the layered medium-length look on clients.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
20 Dec. 2025
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Bette Davis masters a rare light comedy turn as Sherry's long-suffering secretary, with Jimmy Durante as a visitor from Broadway and Wizard of Oz (1939) good witch Billie Burke as the overwhelmed matriarch of the Stanley clan.—
Gwen Ihnat,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Maximum deceleration subjects New Shepard crews to about five times the normal pull of gravity.—
William Harwood,
CBS News,
20 Dec. 2025
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The Miami Beach ordinance subjects people — mostly those who are homeless — to arrest for sleeping outside.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
7 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subdues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subdues. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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