as in conquest
the act or process of bringing someone or something under one's control
a movie about the vanquishing of Egypt by Rome
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in conquering
to bring under one's control by force of arms
vanquished nation after nation in his relentless conquest of Europe
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of vanquishing
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026
James Hansen, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
And despite being massively outnumbered and outgunned, Royce led the takedown of four enemy jets and almost destroyed the others, vanquishing his adversaries while taking 263 bullets to his own plane and being seriously hurt.
—Time Staff, Time, 25 Feb. 2026
Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018) Bruce Campbell returns to the role he was born to play in this comedy-horror series 30 years after vanquishing body-possessing demons in The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992).
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
However, once Hernán Cortés triumphed, the conquistadors went from waging war — vanquishing the Aztecs — to the project of subjugating Indigenous holdouts and building a self-sustaining territory loyal to the crown.
—Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Moments later, with a midair tribute to the dunking style of Karl Malone, Johnson was inflight over E-40 and on the way to vanquishing Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxon Hayes and Orlando Magic rookie guard Jase Richardson in the first round.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
One showed martial-arts legend Bruce Lee vanquishing a roomful of opponents.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Their 1995 album has the rickety punk sound of suburban nightmares, jagged landslides of noise for vanquishing all the dread, real and imagined, just outside their windows.
—Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2025
China’s Alibaba was launched in 1999 and three years later took on eBay, soon vanquishing the American company on its home turf.
—Rich Karlgaard, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
But for others who have been part of the fabric of UM’s rich football history, witnessing Miami’s vanquishing of Texas A&M, Ohio State and Mississippi was a quite different experience, one enjoyed in different pockets of the country, often best without distractions.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026
Verb
And as Siniaková showed emotion of her own in the joy of vanquishing such a favorite, Andreeva started her walk out of the stadium that would end in cursing and acrimony.
—James Hansen, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
And despite being massively outnumbered and outgunned, Royce led the takedown of four enemy jets and almost destroyed the others, vanquishing his adversaries while taking 263 bullets to his own plane and being seriously hurt.
—Time Staff, Time, 25 Feb. 2026
Ash vs Evil Dead (2015–2018) Bruce Campbell returns to the role he was born to play in this comedy-horror series 30 years after vanquishing body-possessing demons in The Evil Dead (1981), Evil Dead II (1987), and Army of Darkness (1992).
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026
However, once Hernán Cortés triumphed, the conquistadors went from waging war — vanquishing the Aztecs — to the project of subjugating Indigenous holdouts and building a self-sustaining territory loyal to the crown.
—Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Moments later, with a midair tribute to the dunking style of Karl Malone, Johnson was inflight over E-40 and on the way to vanquishing Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxon Hayes and Orlando Magic rookie guard Jase Richardson in the first round.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2026
One showed martial-arts legend Bruce Lee vanquishing a roomful of opponents.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026
Their 1995 album has the rickety punk sound of suburban nightmares, jagged landslides of noise for vanquishing all the dread, real and imagined, just outside their windows.
—Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2025
China’s Alibaba was launched in 1999 and three years later took on eBay, soon vanquishing the American company on its home turf.
—Rich Karlgaard, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vanquishing
Noun
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Morris scooped the world in 1953 with the news of the British expedition’s conquest of Everest.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
16 Apr. 2026
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Simultaneously a declaration of Roman supremacy and an admission that conquest may be theft at scale, these Roman propaganda events were so terrifying that Cleopatra famously chose death over appearing in one.—
Mary Beard,
Big Think,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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One after another, the avatars of Democratic success in Georgia took the stage Saturday and were greeted like conquering heroes by hundreds of party faithful at the annual Carter-Lewis gala.—
Greg Bluestein,
AJC.com,
12 Apr. 2026
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Although Beijing has numerous options for conquering Taiwan, the most appealing for the Chinese military would begin with a partial blockade of the island, much like the one Iran imposed on the strait.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Without ever being great or dominating possession, Liverpool showed the shape might become an effective blueprint for the Premier League.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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No double-digit lead is safe because anyone can go on a dominating run, as Michigan and UConn both did on Sunday.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The defense was more than satisfactory in subduing the league’s top offense.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
19 Apr. 2026
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Mario himself is played mostly straight by Pratt, subduing the exaggerated Italian accent from the games, while retaining the underdog aspect of a blue collar guy burdened with greater purpose.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But Jordan’s place on this list is about pure domination.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2026
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With the blessing and leadership of various popes, the nobles of Europe raised armies, crossed various countries or sailed to the Middle East to fight and save the Holy Land (Palestine) from Muslim domination, something that echoes down the centuries to today.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The 49-year-old from Carver, Massachusetts is accused of running a dogfighting operation for years; breeding and training dogs for violence and subjecting the animals to disturbing and cruel conditions and punishment.—
Juli McDonald,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
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Such a model would probably be a good edition to a home or office, so buyers can show off their wheels without subjecting viewers to a garage.—
Erik Shilling,
Robb Report,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ben Shelton bounced back from disappointment last year by defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 to win the Munich Open on Sunday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2026
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Cargill won the title at Saturday Night’s Main Event in November, defeating Tiffany Stratton.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Frank said the team could take pride in overcoming its dreadful start to come within a few victories of landing a higher seed that would have assured them a playoff spot, and posting its league-best 15th consecutive winning season.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
17 Apr. 2026
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The Halos stormed through the playoffs to this franchise's only championship, overcoming a 3-2 series deficit to Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants to win the World Series.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vanquishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vanquishing. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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