as in to subdue
to bring under one's control by force of arms
explorers who subjugated the natives in the name of religion
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Recent Examples of subjugate
The Spanish subjugated and enslaved the indigenous population of the Canaries—the Guanches—exporting some of them to Madeira or Europe, while others were forced to labor on Canarian sugar plantations.
—
Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men?
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Roberts performs as Yale philosophy Professor Alma, the self-righteousness that dazzles in her eyes subjugates Edebiri as Maggie, her self-effacing star pupil.
—Malik Peay, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
Charlie was a champion of the Judeo-Christian coalition to save Western civilization from the forces of barbarism and Islamism that seek to subjugate us all.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subjugate
Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men?
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Roberts performs as Yale philosophy Professor Alma, the self-righteousness that dazzles in her eyes subjugates Edebiri as Maggie, her self-effacing star pupil.
—Malik Peay, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
Charlie was a champion of the Judeo-Christian coalition to save Western civilization from the forces of barbarism and Islamism that seek to subjugate us all.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subjugate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subjugate
Verb
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As police attempted to subdue Safar, another officer suffered facial injuries and a laceration to his torso.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
24 Jan. 2026
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But not before Freddy applies an earlier safety lesson about harmful chemical cleaning products to subdue the suddenly menacing unicorn.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As data center revenue starts to dominate sales, hyperscale ASIC initiatives transition into sustained volume, and customer diversification diminishes earnings variability, Marvell begins to resemble less of a cyclical component supplier and more of a structural AI infrastructure platform.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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The Wild dominated the offensive zone on a second period power play, getting five shots on the Wings goalie and getting another through that clanked the crossbar.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Between 1995 and 2015, both publications—which have a combined circulation of some eighty thousand Canadian family doctors and pharmacists—regularly ran columns from the Motherisk team without subjecting them to peer review.—
Ben Taub,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
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While the Jacksonian program helped produce a massive depression, the Jacksonians’ intention was to accelerate capitalism by democratizing it, not to tame it by subjecting it to government planning.—
Walter Russell Mead,
The Atlantic,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Lancers took a step in the right direction Friday night, coming from behind to defeat La Jolla Country Day 52-39 on the Torreys’ floor in the Coastal League opener for both teams.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Jan. 2026
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In the main event of SmackDown, Trick Williams defeated Damian Priest by DQ after provoking Sami Zayn.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subjugate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subjugate. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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