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
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Recent Examples of subduing
Barak Mendelsohn, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2016
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
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
-
Now, she is being recast as a brilliant linguist who survived conquest, enslavement and patriarchy.—
Kevinisha Walker,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Tariffs, conquests; all are subverted to this man’s ego.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Jan. 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
-
That’s the image projected by Chicago’s pragmatic, unemotional manager, Craig Counsell, who continues to get lustily booed in his hometown.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
He is learned, frail, accomplished, absent, selfish and unemotional.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Dirksen was elected to the Senate in 1950, defeating Scott Lucas, the incumbent Democrat and Senate majority leader.—
John T. Shaw,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
-
McBeth had a successful week for Saratoga, defeating her 11th-grade opponent from MacDonald High 13-1 on Tuesday.—
Christian Babcock,
Mercury News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That disconnect, between fan adoration and critical praise, poses a challenge that Scott does seem interested in conquering.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Although loaded water was the key to conquering her morning sickness, Hoffman says that ginger was also incredibly helpful for her.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This potency can be a good thing for quelling inflammation—but also calls for caution.—
Sarah Garone,
Health,
9 Dec. 2025
-
But the sentiment — quelling a craving, fueling a fervor, feeding the psychic hunger of a fanbase famished for reasons to celebrate ostentatiously — is applicable more broadly, too.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
4 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
If the approval of the most important tastemakers (gay people) wasn’t enough, The New Yorker had crowned Industry as the best TV show of 2024, with the show dominating critics’ year-end lists, from Vanity Fair to Vulture and The Guardian.—
Louis Staples,
Glamour,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Essentially, the Golden Globes TV honors were a redux of the TV Academy’s Emmy Awards winners with The Pitt, The Studio and Adolescence dominating both.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
This classic ranchera song was originally released in 1963 and is a metaphor for overcoming life’s difficult moments.—
Tere Aguilera,
Billboard,
23 Jan. 2026
-
The first query was about injuries, a season-long theme both in terms of hard luck and overcoming adversity in a 13-6 season that included a wild-card playoff win.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subduing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subduing. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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