subject 1 of 4

Definition of subjectnext
1
2
as in citizen
a person who owes allegiance to a government and is protected by it because of the tense situation in that country, British subjects were advised to return home as soon as possible

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in reason
something (as a belief) that serves as the basis for another thing he has no subject to protest this time, but that's never stopped him before

Synonyms & Similar Words

subject

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verb

subject

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adjective

subjection

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noun (2)

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 subject
Noun
No law bans teaching in those subjects. Lily Kepner, Austin American Statesman, 9 Jan. 2026 In the show, portraits of Black subjects, rendered in the artist’s signature of painting with his fingertips, are presented in a built-to-scale architectural re-creation of Boafo’s studio in Accra, Ghana. Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Verb
False statements can subject the filer to penalties of perjury if knowingly false. Olivia Young, CBS News, 2 Jan. 2026 Casts not only subject themselves to relentless promotion but strive to generate their own story alongside their movie, oftentimes becoming a meme of their own making. Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
But my favorites are the subject-tracking modes built for movement. Graham Averill, Outside, 1 Jan. 2026 The company said the subject cars have vehicle controller software that may cause the front parking lights to be too bright and exceed the maximum light output, adversely affecting the vision of other drivers. Keith Laing, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
Noun
Miners argue increased subjection to the dust has led to an eruption of black lung, an incurable disease associated with inhaling the particles. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for subject
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subject
Verb
  • After winning Oscars for their co-written screenplay Good Will Hunting in 1997, the dynamic duo continued dominating Hollywood and became the industry's favorite friends.
    Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Young children torn away from their beloved parents and thrown into a cold, strict environment, dominated by the threat of punitive authority.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Cleanup efforts — including efforts to reduce the amount of sewage, fertilizer and petroleum products being rinsed into the lagoon — are heavily dependent on cities and counties.
    Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Today, every country’s economy is tied to others, but a small nation that’s as historically dependent on trade as Denmark seems particularly vulnerable to Trump’s caprices.
    Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Nazism’s total domination politically and socially found an aesthetic counterpart in the visual reduction of bodies to things, ecstatically subdued before the hypnotic power of a leader, force, or sublime beauty.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Barack Obama also availed himself of caution, reluctance and NATO partners to use air power to subdue chaos on the ground in Libya.
    John Brummett, Washington Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • One is 36 and on the backside of his career but proud of the fact that he’s never missed the playoffs – which the 6-20 Clippers seemed bound to do.
    Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 18 Dec. 2025
  • These objects have hyperbolic orbits, as opposed to the bound circular or elliptical orbits of everything native to the solar system.
    Darryl Seligman, Space.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • Skinny Pedro had conquered for each man in the camp the sacred right to choose how to confront his own death.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Jan. 2026
  • That, plus some Sunday morning news interviews and a shot at conquering Cuba, and all for the bargain basement price of one soul.
    Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Such a lens shows that the mobility of these women depended on the labor of those who were unfree.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
  • His brother, god of hunting and tracking, is caught in the cruel paradox of parole — somehow still unfree and searching for liberty and purpose, yearning for the seeming escape of his own car on the open road, always in danger of being hunted down himself.
    Sara Holdren, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Samsung says these structural improvements allow the HP5 to overcome traditional low-light limitations.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Vance’s second biggest battle is overcoming political history, which statistically does not favor incumbent vice presidents’ chances of winning the White House.
    Myra Adams, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • The last meeting happened in the NFC championship game in the 2022 season, where the Eagles defeated the Niners 31-7 before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
    Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
  • The Mean Green's best football season ever wasn't even over before the major figures from that team left, or announced their intentions to bounce ASAP; when the season did end, moments after North Texas defeated San Diego State to win the New Mexico Bowl, is when the great Denton flood began.
    Mac Engel Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Arkansas Online, 11 Jan. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Subject.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subject. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

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