as in subjected
to bring under one's control by force of arms
it is one of the lessons of history that more powerful civilizations often subordinate weaker ones
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Recent Examples of subordinated
Early gas-station signs were smaller than today’s, and still subordinated to the oil-company name and image.
—
Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 11 Apr. 2026
The brilliance of her artwork is many times subordinated to her biography.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The past two generations of health care have been about gradual socialization of medicine, which has subordinated both patients and doctors to faceless bureaucrats and insurers.
—Kim-Lien Nguyen, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025
However, the deeds that were supposed to to secure the loans were ultimately subordinated without CB&T’s knowledge, Zions said in the lawsuit.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2025
This is not to defend Cook, but rather to illustrate the parallelism and hypocrisy of the rule of law being subordinated to the law of the ruler.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
Anyone who diverges from progressive orthodoxy is excluded from faculty ranks, free inquiry is subordinated to activism, and taxpayer funds flow into administrative bureaucracies that enforce political correctness.
—Ilya Shapiro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
This is a major change for a Republican Party that used to believe that character and behavior mattered and couldn’t be subordinated or overlooked.
—Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 4 Aug. 2025
Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 11 Apr. 2026
The brilliance of her artwork is many times subordinated to her biography.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The past two generations of health care have been about gradual socialization of medicine, which has subordinated both patients and doctors to faceless bureaucrats and insurers.
—Kim-Lien Nguyen, Boston Herald, 29 Nov. 2025
However, the deeds that were supposed to to secure the loans were ultimately subordinated without CB&T’s knowledge, Zions said in the lawsuit.
—Leslie Picker, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2025
This is not to defend Cook, but rather to illustrate the parallelism and hypocrisy of the rule of law being subordinated to the law of the ruler.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
Anyone who diverges from progressive orthodoxy is excluded from faculty ranks, free inquiry is subordinated to activism, and taxpayer funds flow into administrative bureaucracies that enforce political correctness.
—Ilya Shapiro, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Aug. 2025
This is a major change for a Republican Party that used to believe that character and behavior mattered and couldn’t be subordinated or overlooked.
—Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subordinated
Verb
-
The incident subjected museum leadership to intense scrutiny over the security lapse, which independent investigations have framed as symptomatic of broader systemic infrastructure failures.—
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
18 May 2026
-
Pennsylvania subjected everything she was left to inheritance tax at the state’s top 15% rate.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
North Paulding baseball coach Matt Richardson broke tradition on Monday when his team dominated a Georgia powerhouse to make the state championship.—
Jack Leo,
AJC.com,
22 May 2026
-
Busch dominated the October 2016 Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 from the pole for the third straight year, leading 150 of 200 laps for his 85th career Xfinity Series win.—
Jeff Rosen,
Kansas City Star,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Here was a man who had conquered eight halls of fame, had traveled the world many times over, and nothing compared to his home.—
Gillian Telling,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
-
His father conquered mass culture.—
Noel Burgess,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Aside from the occasional siren and the presence of television crews along the sidewalk, the atmosphere was subdued and traffic around the hospital continued to move steadily.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
-
The thin layer of this paint looked nice and subdued under this dark spot on our porch.—
Tessa Cooper,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
Verb
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McGregor first fought at welterweight in 2016 in a shocking loss to Diaz, then defeated Diaz later that year, again in the 170-pound division.—
Mark Puleo,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
True North Classical Academy defeated SLAM (Tampa) in five sets in the 1A state final.—
Alex Kushel,
Sun Sentinel,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subordinated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subordinated. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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