as in to subdue
to bring under one's control by force of arms
explorers who subjugated the natives in the name of religion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in conquest
the act or process of bringing someone or something under one's control
the subjugation of much of Europe by Napoléon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 subjugate
Elan Journo, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
Likewise, meekness once meant not becoming weak, but subjugating power to reason – not letting anger take control.
—Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 17 Mar. 2026
The continent’s failure to learn could lead not just to the subjugation of individual nations but to the end of the European project.
—Liam Denning, Bloomberg, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subjugate
Verb
Its founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, established a religious dictatorship that subjugates the Iranian people under sharia law, while zealously exporting its dogma by force.
—Elan Journo, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
Likewise, meekness once meant not becoming weak, but subjugating power to reason – not letting anger take control.
—Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
Noun
In pre-Christian Ireland, sucking breasts was a way of showing subjugation to a king and the cutting out of Old Croghan Man’s nipples is, historians believe, an indication that he had been thus stripped of his claims to kingship.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 17 Mar. 2026
The continent’s failure to learn could lead not just to the subjugation of individual nations but to the end of the European project.
—Liam Denning, Bloomberg, 12 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for subjugate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subjugate
Verb
-
His entourage subdued Sirhan as a teenage busboy cradled the injured Kennedy.—
Sophia Zhang,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
29 May 2026
-
The employees subdued Scott in the parking lot and held him down until police arrived.—
Clifford Ward,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
According to Alessandro Usielli, head of Ford global brand entertainment, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Ford have all worked with the Bond franchise to introduce new models by providing cars for the superspy, his coterie of comely conquests and his villainous adversaries.—
Brett Berk,
HollywoodReporter,
24 May 2026
-
Kilkenny Castle Originally built in the 12th century, soon after the Norman conquest of Ireland, Kilkenny Castle is located on the banks of the River Nore in County Kilkenny.—
Patricia Doherty,
Travel + Leisure,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
The bolt-on deal trend According to PitchBook data, the vast majority of capital allocation is currently concentrated in strategic acquisitions and corporate add-ons rather than leveraged buyouts, with drug discovery dominating the deal flow.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
-
The Knicks, meanwhile, have dominated the playoffs by winning 11 games in a row.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
One such set lies in the city’s Flavelle, Port Moody location, where a sprawling makeshift village depicts different boroughs of Ba Sing Se, the next target in Fire Lord Ozai’s mission for global domination.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
-
But neither franchise domination, AI nor streaming make Spielberg fret for the future of movies.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
In Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix at the CSIO Piazza di Siena in Rome, it could have been argued that only a Roman, actually, can understand Rome – or at the very least, how to conquer its show jumping crown jewel.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
-
There’s a big frontier out there to conquer, and Courseau is now enough of a cowboy to rope it, brand it, and ride it into the sunset.—
Claudia Alarcón,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Noun
-
Gore scattered two more hits en route to his fourth win of the year — and second dominating performance against the Royals.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
30 May 2026
-
The recent run of success has been led by a dominating pitching staff, especially the bullpen, with an erratic offense only starting to come alive of late.—
Doug Padilla,
Oc Register,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
The group spent years subjecting the gastric juice to a special kind of screening process.—
Sara Talpos — Undark,
STAT,
1 June 2026
-
Over the course of four to six months per coil, the team will subject components to full operational electrical currents, which reach 68 kiloamperes (kA) for the toroidal field units and 48 kA for the poloidal field units.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
The food, beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, and agribusiness lobbies do not need to defeat MAHA in public debate.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
-
But environmentalists and other stakeholders said giving too many concessions to fossil fuel interests would defeat the program’s purpose, which is to drive down emissions along a pathway consistent with what scientists say could preserve a recognizable climate.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subjugate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subjugate. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
