Synonyms of submissive

submissive

adjective

səb-ˈmi-siv 

as in obedient

readily giving in to the command or authority of another

it's not in her nature to be submissive

Synonyms & Similar Words

• obedient
• docile
• compliant
• restrained
• tractable
• biddable
• meek
• gentle
• conformable
• amenable
• repressed
• soft
• decorous
• controllable
• subordinate
• acquiescent
• tame
• servile
• law-abiding
• dutiful
• subservient
• amiable
• obliging
• obsequious
• agreeable
• surrendering
• slavish
• fawning
• orderly
• governable
• duteous
• yielding
• disciplined
• constrained
• mannerly
• mild
• placable
• manageable
• inhibited
• teachable
• obeisant
• trainable
• kowtowing
• handleable
• curbed
• disciplinable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• defiant
• rebellious
• disobedient
• willful
• wilful
• unruly
• refractory
• contrary
• recalcitrant
• restive
• wayward
• contumacious
• stubborn
• insubordinate
• noncompliant
• intractable
• rebel
• obstinate
• headstrong
• mutinous
• ungovernable
• obstreperous
• wild
• unyielding
• untoward
• balky
• defiant
• uncontrollable
• obdurate
• insurgent
• hardheaded
• resistant
• peevish
• unmanageable
• mulish
• naughty
• dogged
• froward
• perverse
• unamenable
• mischievous
• bad
• self-willed
• pigheaded
• incompliant
• disorderly
• undisciplined
• balky
• insolent
• errant
• impudent
• dissident
• disrespectful
• nonconformist
• rude
• impolite
• misbehaving
• ill-bred
• ill-mannered

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of submissive

Washington has become the court of Nero: an incendiary emperor, submissive courtiers, and a buffoon on ketamine tasked with purging the civil service. —Claude Malhuret, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2025

However, these works — all written by men — portrayed Veronika as a fragile, submissive woman, passively awaiting her fate. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025

This dynamic inadvertently fosters a dominant/submissive power play, providing Romy with an unexpected outlet to explore and indulge her kinks. —Robert Lang, Deadline, 7 Jan. 2025

Cowed by DeSantis, weak and submissive lawmakers unquestioningly approved his culture-war agenda. —Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 1 Feb. 2025