subdue

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /səbˈdu/ UK /səbˈdjuː/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to bring under control by force or persuasion

It took three officers to subdue the struggling suspect.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to bring under control by... conquer quell suppress vanquish subjugate tame overpower

Opposites

incite provoke liberate embolden

Word family

Forms subduerunsubdued

Derived forms subduersubduedsubduable

Related forms subdual

Simplified etymology

Subdue entered English in the late Middle English period and ultimately belongs to the family derived from Latin ducere, “to lead.” Its historical formation meant “draw from below.”

Etymology

From Middle English subduen, from Old French souduire, reshaped under influence of Latin subdūcere ('to lead away') and subdere ('to subject'), from sub- ('under') + dūcere ('to lead').

sub Latin dūcere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# subdue

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /səbˈdu/
**IPA (UK):** /səbˈdjuː/

## Meanings
1. to bring under control by force or persuasion

## Examples
- It took three officers to subdue the struggling suspect.

## Synonyms
- conquer
- quell
- suppress
- vanquish
- subjugate
- tame
- overpower

## Antonyms
- incite
- provoke
- liberate
- embolden

## Derived Forms
- subduer
- subdued
- subduable

## Related Forms
- subdual

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sub
- Root: dūcere

## Etymology
From Middle English subduen, from Old French souduire, reshaped under influence of Latin subdūcere ('to lead away') and subdere ('to subject'), from sub- ('under') + dūcere ('to lead').

## AI Etymology
Subdue comes from Middle English subduen, from Old French souduire, reshaped under influence of Latin subdūcere ('to lead away') and subdere ('to subject'), from sub- ('under') + dūcere ('to lead'). The historical chain includes Latin sub and Latin dūcere. The quoted older senses, "to lead away", "to subject", "under", and "to lead", supply the semantic anchors for subdue. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word subdue carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to bring under control by force or persuasion". English derivatives include subduer, subdued, and subduable; related English forms include subdual. The result is a verb whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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