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
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
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
-
In the Caribbean, French admirals set their sights on the conquest of sugar islands like Jamaica—the diamonds in King George’s glittering imperial crown.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
His plays gleefully plumb the wickedest aspects of the human psyche, delivering tales of relentless conquest, Jewish perfidy, deals with the devil, and gay love.—
Isaac Butler,
The Atlantic,
3 Nov. 2025
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
-
The Lancers won their conference tournament by defeating Utah Tech and Utah Valley, with both matches going to penalty kicks.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Ole Miss wound up defeating Oklahoma 34-26 in Norman.—
Jordan Sigler,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
There are plenty of different approaches to quelling snoring, including nasal strips, side sleeping, weight loss and, for those with sleep apnea, a CPAP machine prescribed by a doctor.—
Ian Kerner,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Even as plenty of doctors have scrambled to address the flaws of the WHI and the benefits of HRT for quelling the symptoms of menopause, women have remained, understandably, deterred by the scary warning.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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On a night when the Broncos offense sputtered and Rizzi’s special teams had several face-palm moments, Skinner’s block was the Broncos’ bailout, and the differentiator that underscored a dominating performance on defense.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
7 Nov. 2025
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And all signs point to Malinin’s dominating in Milan, much as fellow American Nathan Chen did at the 2022 Beijing Games (Chen left competitive skating after his gold).—
Nick Zaccardi,
NBC news,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
DiMarco’s participation became a highlight of the event, with the student asking thoughtful questions about overcoming imposter syndrome and handling rejection.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
-
And that religion, like music, can carry the sound of struggle – but also the hope of one day overcoming the injustices and inequalities of everyday life.—
Ken Chitwood,
The Conversation,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subduing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subduing. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
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