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 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
1
as in noninflammatory
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in unemotional
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of subduing
Barak Mendelsohn, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2016
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
Noun
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
Adjective
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
-
May our next adventures be lessons — not in conquest, but in openness.—
Wilson Santiago Burgos,
USA Today,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Such complicity will damage national security by strengthening enemies, driving away allies, harming international trade, increasing nuclear proliferation, encouraging new wars of territorial conquest, and ending America’s role as leader of the free world.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Behind Wemby's strong contributions, the Spurs also won their first three games, defeating the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Pelicans.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
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But then, in the second group phase — consisting of four groups of three, in the first 24-team World Cup — Italy exploded into life despite a very tough draw, defeating holders Argentina and favourites Brazil.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And when was conquering ever a good thing?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
These terrorists are going about on a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly.—
Paul Tilsley,
FOXNews.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Mann also had a steal and subsequent layup near the tail end of the first quarter, quelling any fears about his health after missing most of last season with a back issue.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Oct. 2025
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Ellis last week expanded her restraining order, requiring all federal agents with body cameras involved in quelling protests to have them on when encountering demonstrators.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Mineral formulas also tend to be fragrance-free, noncomedogenic, and noninflammatory, says Dr. Engelman.—
Brigitt Earley,
Glamour,
21 Feb. 2024
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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
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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
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He is learned, frail, accomplished, absent, selfish and unemotional.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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With Charlotte rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner dominating on the interior, Drummond came off the bench and grabbed 13 rebounds in 15 minutes.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
-
The Dodgers have earned the break with a dominating performance over the Milwaukee Brewers, culminating in Shohei Ohtani’s historic exclamation point in Game 4.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Penix and London, along with Bijan Robinson, have been heavily involved in Atlanta's offense this season, so regardless of who the opponent is missing, overcoming the loss of your starting quarterback and leading pass catcher will be a tough task.—
Cameron Belcher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
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But there's also a lot of stories of people overcoming a lot of obstacles, and that's synonymous with what Kayla has done.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subduing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subduing. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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