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Subdue   /səbdˈu/   Listen
verb
Subdue  v. t.  (past & past part. subdued; pres. part. subduing)  
1.
To bring under; to conquer by force or the exertion of superior power, and bring into permanent subjection; to reduce under dominion; to vanquish. "I will subdue all thine enemies."
2.
To overpower so as to disable from further resistance; to crush. "Nothing could have subdued nature To such a lowness, but his unkind daughters." "If aught... were worthy to subdue The soul of man."
3.
To destroy the force of; to overcome; as, medicines subdue a fever.
4.
To render submissive; to bring under command; to reduce to mildness or obedience; to tame; as, to subdue a stubborn child; to subdue the temper or passions.
5.
To overcome, as by persuasion or other mild means; as, to subdue opposition by argument or entreaties.
6.
To reduce to tenderness; to melt; to soften; as, to subdue ferocity by tears.
7.
To make mellow; to break, as land; also, to destroy, as weeds.
8.
To reduce the intensity or degree of; to tone down; to soften; as, to subdue the brilliancy of colors.
Synonyms: To conquer; overpower; overcome; surmount; vanquish. See Conquer.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Subdue" Quotes from Famous Books



... assented the commissary; "but 't is also the way to subdue them. They began a war, and they must pay the usual penalty until they are sickened of it. And since the seizures were to be made, 't was too good a chance not to turn an honest penny. Pray Heaven they don't lay down their arms too soon, for I ambition ...
— Janice Meredith • Paul Leicester Ford
... humorously like his father, except that he was larger-boned and promised to grow into a much bigger man. His hair was uncompromisingly red, and grew in such irregular fashion that the comb was not made which could subdue it. He had the wide-open, fighting blue eyes of the Chief Inspector, and when he smiled the presence of two broken teeth lent him ...
— Tales of Chinatown • Sax Rohmer
... Oughtn't to mind us taking what we can People do not like you to be different Prayers which come so glibly from unbelievers Revolt against a world so murderous and uncharitable Seemed to know that in silence was her strength She never went to meet life Sheer pride; and I can't subdue it Silence was her strength So absorbed in his dismay and concern, that he was almost happy Speak, or keep silent; try to console; try to pretend? The heart of another is a dark forest The talked-about is always the last to hear the talk The tongue ...
— Quotations from the Works of John Galsworthy • David Widger
... against the ordinance of the Romans: for it was not lawfull for anie to take that name vpon him oftener than once in anie one voiage. Moreouer, Claudius tooke from the Britains their armor and weapons, and committed the gouernment of them vnto Plautius, commanding him to endeuour himselfe to subdue the residue. ...
— Chronicles (1 of 6): The Historie of England (4 of 8) - The Fovrth Booke Of The Historie Of England • Raphael Holinshed
... reign the indomitable race rose again in another branch and under another name, and furnished in the Regent Morton one of the strongest as well as the most questionable figures of a deeply disturbed time. Never was a race more difficult to subdue. ...
— Royal Edinburgh - Her Saints, Kings, Prophets and Poets • Margaret Oliphant


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