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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of subduing
Barak Mendelsohn, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2016
Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
Officers then shot her with a Taser, subduing her enough to take her into custody, police said.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
Trump thought the Secret Service did an excellent job subduing the gunman but the White House is reviewing security for major events for the country's 250th anniversary.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
The defense was more than satisfactory in subduing the league’s top offense.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 19 Apr. 2026
Mario himself is played mostly straight by Pratt, subduing the exaggerated Italian accent from the games, while retaining the underdog aspect of a blue collar guy burdened with greater purpose.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
There, the pioneers—practical, inventive, restless, exuberant white men—clashed with Indigenous peoples, subduing them and a wilderness filled with wild animals and abundant natural resources.
—Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
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
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
Viewers have already seen glimpses of the premiere, which involves Aang and Katara subduing a sea serpent while guiding refugees across a treacherous path.
—Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
Officers then shot her with a Taser, subduing her enough to take her into custody, police said.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
Trump thought the Secret Service did an excellent job subduing the gunman but the White House is reviewing security for major events for the country's 250th anniversary.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
The defense was more than satisfactory in subduing the league’s top offense.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 19 Apr. 2026
Mario himself is played mostly straight by Pratt, subduing the exaggerated Italian accent from the games, while retaining the underdog aspect of a blue collar guy burdened with greater purpose.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2026
There, the pioneers—practical, inventive, restless, exuberant white men—clashed with Indigenous peoples, subduing them and a wilderness filled with wild animals and abundant natural resources.
—Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subduing
Noun
-
In the first 30 days of this assault, Israel killed at least 4,100 children—roughly eight times as many children as Russia killed in 21 months during its war of conquest in Ukraine.—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
15 June 2026
-
This provided the key insight on how vaccines work, which in turn led to the twentieth-century conquest of the most common infectious diseases.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 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
-
Without wishing to give away the ending of a real-life case finally resolved in 2008, the information disclosed is anger-inducing and the unresponsive, unemotional demeanor of the perpetrator truly chilling.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
-
Wearing a navy blue suit with an American flag pinned on the lapel, a low-energy Weinstein appeared unemotional as White delivered her opening remarks.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
After defeating fellow American Kyle Daukaus, fighter Bo Nickal praised the president.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
15 June 2026
-
Cardenas is currently running for re-election to the Board of Review, and won the Democratic primary in March, defeating former Friends of the Parks executive director Juanita Irizarry.—
Todd Feurer,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
Her past several albums did not reach the same heights as her biggest releases, and the story around Perry shifted from world-conquering hitmaker to a star on the downswing – one whose latest singles and albums all underperformed, and things weren’t looking up.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
This was Maserati‘s all-conquering factory race car of the mid-1950s and, unquestionably, one of the most beautiful ever built.—
Howard Walker,
Robb Report,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
The mosquitoes came out in droves at night, just before bed, quelling our ambitions of stargazing or watching for the northern lights.—
John Bowe,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
-
Owens, who tried to reach third, was gunned down by left fielder Brendan Brock, quelling the early threat.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
The United States men’s national team’s performance in Friday night’s 4-1 was stylish, dominating and even historic.—
Ian Nicholas Quillen,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
-
So is indie rock with maybe-a-psy-op-but-who-cares band Geese dominating summer concert sales.—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Czechia, playing in the World Cup for just the second time as an independent nation, has been unimpressive in its tournament warm-ups; its last win over a World Cup qualifier was a 2-1 win over Norway 27 months ago.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
-
After an unimpressive Heat summer-league run under coach Erik Spoelstra in 2006 on a roster that included current Heat assistant Chris Quinn, Gansey contracted a life-threatening staph infection that proved to be MRSA.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subduing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subduing. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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