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 noninflammatory
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in unemotional
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
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
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 subduing
Barak Mendelsohn, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2016
Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 14 Jan. 2026
As the representative for the armed wing of a human empire, you're tasked with subduing these Lovecraftian abominations and securing a foothold for humanity on alien worlds.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 5 Jan. 2026
The past two months of mostly sideways churn within 3% of record highs for the S & P 500 has helped to rebalance the market, puncturing the aggressive sense of destiny around many AI plays, subduing some speculative misbehavior and allowing valuations to settle.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 20 Dec. 2025
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
Adjective
Empowered but often improperly trained Israelis fearful of any Palestinian-looking individual, ended up killing, instead of subduing, attackers, which further inflamed tensions.
—Barak Mendelsohn, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2016
Verb
Multiple officers were involved in subduing Guity and placing him in handcuffs, police said.
—Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 14 Jan. 2026
As the representative for the armed wing of a human empire, you're tasked with subduing these Lovecraftian abominations and securing a foothold for humanity on alien worlds.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 5 Jan. 2026
The past two months of mostly sideways churn within 3% of record highs for the S & P 500 has helped to rebalance the market, puncturing the aggressive sense of destiny around many AI plays, subduing some speculative misbehavior and allowing valuations to settle.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 20 Dec. 2025
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
-
Ours are quests that lead to questions rather than conquests – journeys that gather instead of conquer.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Hauser stressed that the site could shed new light on the Parthian Empire, which controlled the city centuries after Alexander's conquest.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
13 Mar. 2026
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
-
While Clark was prone to long, unwieldy answers to questions, Meyer is pretty concise and unemotional in his responses.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Forbes.com,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The reason why is that all of their star players behaved like Aztec alumnus Kawhi Leonard: unemotional, robotic freaks who do not care about anything other than basketball.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
His Jayhawks went 1-1 at the Big 12 tournament, defeating TCU 78-73 on Thursday before getting clobbered by Houston 69-47 in Friday’s semifinals.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
16 Mar. 2026
-
When Alejandro Bran struck a volley from 24 yards out last week at BMO Stadium, the Costa Rican delivered a lightning strike that LD Alajuelense needed in order to have a chance of defeating the Los Angeles Football Club.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Vin Baker did not want to return a conquering University of Hartford hero just yet.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Best of luck conquering the world today and, of course, do keep in touch.—
Ed Silverman,
STAT,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Trump and Republicans last year aggressively ramped up policies favorable to fossil fuels after romping to an electoral victory in 2024 on a promise to lower the cost of living, including by quelling gas prices.—
Garrett Downs,
CNBC,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Cipriani’s suit alleges Shell was desperate for help in quelling negative stories about him.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The game was scoreless after the first half despite the United States dominating possession by nearly 70%.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Even with the Haaland situation dominating headlines, there are clear midfield priorities heading into the next gameweek.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Ensuring the power supply is reliable, as well as overcoming regulation, will also be key, Hernandez said.—
April Roach,Gaelle Legrand,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Having won the competition set by her late, estranged father Alexandre (Stanley Weber) to determine the heir to his wine empire, Camille Leger (Fleur Geffrier) took an important step toward overcoming Alexandre’s toxic emotional legacy.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subduing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subduing. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
