Synonyms for subdue
səbˈdu, -ˈdyusub·due

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. subdue

   Castigate and chastise refer strictly to corporal punishment, tho both are somewhat archaic; correct and punish are often used as euphemisms in preference to either. Punish is distinctly retributive in sense; chastise, partly retributive, and partly corrective; chasten, wholly corrective. Chasten is used exclusively in the spiritual sense, and chiefly of the visitation of God.

   Synonyms:
   afflict, castigate, chasten, chastise, correct, discipline, humble, punish, purify, refine, soften, try

   Preposition:
   "We are chastened of the Lord," 1 Cor. xi, 32; "they ... chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our profit," Heb. xii, 10; "chasten in thy hot displeasure," Ps. iv, 7; chasten with pain; by trials and sorrows.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. subdue

   Synonyms:
   conquer, reduce, overpower, break, tame, quell, vanquish, master, subjugate

   Antonyms:
   aggrandize, exalt, fortify, strengthen, empower, liberate, enfranchise

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:4.0 / 1 vote

1. repress, quash, keep down, subdue, subjugate, reduceverb

   put down by force or intimidation

   "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"

   Synonyms:
   chasten, strangle, get over, suppress, concentrate, master, conquer, avoid, quash, slim down, boil down, surmount, scale down, annul, trim down, thin out, inhibit, lose weight, decoct, cut, foreshorten, nullify, abbreviate, trim, slenderize, subject, shorten, deoxidise, crucify, subjugate, cut down, abridge, reduce, contract, melt off, curb, stamp down, invalidate, deoxidize, come down, subordinate, tame, number, mortify, dilute, slim, shrink, smother, thin, bring down, trim back, cut back, overcome, muffle, keep down, stifle, void, repress, tighten

2. suppress, stamp down, inhibit, subdue, conquer, curbverb

   to put down by force or authority

   "suppress a nascent uprising"; "stamp down on littering"; "conquer one's desires"

   Synonyms:
   chasten, capture, get over, master, crush, conquer, moderate, quash, keep down, surmount, restrict, suppress, bottle up, crucify, subjugate, reduce, control, curb, stamp down, hold, seize, subordinate, tame, mortify, hold in, curtail, appropriate, contain, oppress, inhibit, cut back, overcome, repress, check

3. mortify, subdue, crucifyverb

   hold within limits and control

   "subdue one's appetites"; "mortify the flesh"

   Synonyms:
   chasten, get over, master, inhibit, conquer, pillory, quash, humble, surmount, frustrate, bedevil, suppress, abase, chagrin, savage, keep down, dun, gangrene, torment, crucify, subjugate, sphacelate, humiliate, reduce, curb, stamp down, subordinate, tame, necrose, mortify, rag, blast, overcome, repress

4. overcome, get over, subdue, surmount, masterverb

   get on top of; deal with successfully

   "He overcame his shyness"

   Synonyms:
   chasten, cut through, bounce back, get over, overwhelm, master, inhibit, conquer, quash, sweep over, whelm, surmount, scale, get the best, cut across, have the best, dominate, suppress, outmatch, exceed, outgo, outperform, defeat, outstrip, crucify, subjugate, get the hang, reduce, control, surpass, curb, stamp down, traverse, subordinate, tame, pass over, get well, mortify, outdo, cover, repress, cross, overtake, get across, overcome, keep down, track, overpower, get the better of

5. subordinate, subdueverb

   make subordinate, dependent, or subservient

   "Our wishes have to be subordinated to that of our ruler"

   Synonyms:
   crucify, surmount, curb, chasten, tame, stamp down, inhibit, overcome, reduce, suppress, repress, subjugate, master, quash, subordinate, conquer, keep down, get over, mortify

6. tame, chasten, subdueverb

   correct by punishment or discipline

   Synonyms:
   chasten, get over, domesticate, naturalise, master, inhibit, conquer, moderate, quash, cultivate, surmount, objurgate, castigate, domesticise, reclaim, suppress, temper, tone down, crucify, subjugate, correct, reduce, curb, stamp down, domesticize, subordinate, tame, mortify, chastise, overcome, naturalize, keep down, repress

Matched Categories

1. • Beat
   • Change
   • Contain
   • Lower

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. subdueverb

   Synonyms:
   conquer, subjugate, vanquish, beat, crush, defeat, rout, discomfit, worst, overpower, overcome, overbear, overwhelm, master, choke, foil, quell, surmount, get the better of, get the upper hand of, put down, beat down

2. subdueverb

   Synonyms:
   tame, HAVE ON THE HIP, subject, control, make submissive, bring under rule

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. subdueverb

   Synonyms:
   conquer, vanquish, subject, overpower, subjugate, crush, master, quell, tone down, soften

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "subdue":

   subjugate

How to pronounce subdue?

How to say subdue in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use subdue in a sentence?

1. Monique Bastos:

   Monique Bastos, an MMA fighter who was on Monique Bastos way to jiu-jitsu training, Esquire reported, said two men jumped Monique Bastos and stole Monique Bastos cellphone on a crowded street in Acailandia, Brazil. One fled, but Monique Bastos said Monique Bastos managed to personally subdue the other. I tried to hold my phone, and I realized they were not armed. When they tried to escape, I lifted the rear wheel of the bike and they fell on the ground. The guy who took my phone ran away, but I was able to get the other one.

2. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona:

   I'm so sad to learn that Bill Badger has passed away. Bill was not only a great man and a proud Army veteran, he was a hero, on Jan. 8, 2011, Bill was wounded in the head by a bullet from the gun of my would-be assassin. Not even pausing to realize he had been injured, Bill ran towards the shooter and towards danger so that he could help subdue him until the authorities arrived. I believe that Bill helped save lives that morning. And I will always be grateful to him for his selfless, brave actions. My heart, thoughts, and prayers are with Bill's loved ones as they mourn the loss of a great man.

3. unknown:

   The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

4. John Locke:

   Tis a Mistake to think this Fault [tyranny] is proper only to Monarchies; other Forms of Government are liable to it, as well as that. For where-ever the Power that is put in any hands for the Government of the People, and the Preservation of their Properties, is applied to other ends, and made use of to impoverish, harass, or subdue them to the Arbitrary and Irregular Commands of those that have it: There it presently becomes Tyranny, whether those that thus use it are one or many.

5. Vladimir Putin:

   They do not want to humiliate us, they want to subdue us, solve their problems at our expense, No one in history ever managed to achieve this with Russia, and no one ever will.