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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of vanquishing
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Ohio State, though largely untested, has been dominant and looks poised to defend its national title after finally vanquishing Michigan.
—The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 7 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 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
Ohio State, though largely untested, has been dominant and looks poised to defend its national title after finally vanquishing Michigan.
—The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 7 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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By the time the 2010’s rolled around, audiences were primed for a foreign-film conquest.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
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There is no longer channeling but crossing, no longer constraint but conquest; the human flow can beat to its own rhythm, supported by spatial structure yet independent of the formal organization of its support.—
Elinore Weil,
Artforum,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Vin Baker did not want to return a conquering University of Hartford hero just yet.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Best of luck conquering the world today and, of course, do keep in touch.—
Ed Silverman,
STAT,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The game was scoreless after the first half despite the United States dominating possession by nearly 70%.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Even with the Haaland situation dominating headlines, there are clear midfield priorities heading into the next gameweek.—
Abdul Rehman,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Multiple officers were involved in subduing Guity and placing him in handcuffs, police said.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
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As the representative for the armed wing of a human empire, you're tasked with subduing these Lovecraftian abominations and securing a foothold for humanity on alien worlds.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Many observers were taken aback by his haughty tone, hypermasculine preoccupation with domination, giddiness about violence and casual attitude toward death.—
Casey Ryan Kelly,
The Conversation,
9 Mar. 2026
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Then for the first time in a real race, rocket starts by Charles Leclerc, who went from fourth to first by Turn 1, and Lewis Hamilton from down in seventh, teased a potential fight that would disrupt the Mercedes domination narrative.—
Luke Smith,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Researchers at the institution spent two years investigating the canvas, matching the signature and the pigments on the canvas to those of other works by Rembrandt, and subjecting the work to macro-XRF scans revealing compositional changes.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
3 Mar. 2026
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There is a real concern that what remains of the system may seek revenge for these events, targeting prisoners and political activists who are still outside prison, detaining them, and subjecting them to executions or severe punishments.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Fairfield University women’s basketball team will head back to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, after defeating Quinnipiac 51-44 Monday night in the MAAC championship game and getting the conference’s automatic berth in Atlantic City.—
Lori Riley,
Hartford Courant,
10 Mar. 2026
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The Bobcats showed flickers of promise, nearly defeating Troy and Georgia Southern in the regular season.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ensuring the power supply is reliable, as well as overcoming regulation, will also be key, Hernandez said.—
April Roach,Gaelle Legrand,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
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Having won the competition set by her late, estranged father Alexandre (Stanley Weber) to determine the heir to his wine empire, Camille Leger (Fleur Geffrier) took an important step toward overcoming Alexandre’s toxic emotional legacy.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Vanquishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vanquishing. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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