SUBDUES Synonyms: 167 Similar and Opposite Words

subdues

verb

present tense third-person singular of subdue

as in overcomes

to achieve a victory over subdued her fear of the dark by joining a club for spelunkers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in conquers

to bring under one's control by force of arms subdued the rebels and sent their leaders to the gallows

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in suppresses

to put a stop to (something) by the use of force labored through the night to subdue the river's rising waters by building a wall of sandbags around their property

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of subdues In person, Huang subdues his ironic braggadocio with polite eye contact and rolling belly laughs at his own jokes. — Mariella Rudi, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 El Nino also subdues the hurricane season in the Atlantic because there is so much heat in the Pacific that outcompetes the Atlantic, Berardelli added. — ABC News, 8 May 2026 Royd subdues and binds her before taking off to restore the power. — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2025 For those who are more into curves than angles, the Bialetti Moon takes all the functional elements of the moka stovetop espresso maker and subdues them with a rounded stainless steel silhouette. — Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 10 Oct. 2025 However, a strong fusion of tonka wood and sage subdues the sweet sensation, making the fragrance genderless. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples of Synonyms for subdues

Verb

Somaliland is proximate and overcomes some of the limitations imposed by other regional hosts like Djibouti and Middle East partners.

— Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026
This technique overcomes limitations of older methods like genotyping arrays, which were often biased towards European ancestries and less accurate.

— William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of overcomes

Verb

Warming suppresses upwelling — which normally allows colder, deeper and nutrient-rich ocean water to rise closer to the surface.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026
Testosterone therapy suppresses the body's production of sperm and, in some cases, can lead to permanent infertility.

— Will Stone, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of suppresses

Verb

Seven Democratic incumbents have lost their primaries so far, already tying with 2012 for the most Democratic House incumbent defeats this century.

— Chad de Guzman, Time, 14 Aug. 2026
Felix Rosenqvist defeats David Malukas at the Checkered Flag in the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history in the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

— Bruce Martin, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of defeats

Verb

OpenRouter's fivefold volume jump suggests deflation and platform revenue are not mechanically opposed, and nobody outside Stripe has the data to say which effect dominates.

— Janakiram MSV, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2026
China currently dominates much of the global rare earth processing and magnet supply chain.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of dominates

Verb

The real competitive advantage of the next decade will not belong to the CEO who masters every AI platform, but the CEO who consistently makes better decisions.

— Jose Luis Gonzalez Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Finally, Kim masters the steps and takes to the stage with confidence, as her family cheers her on!

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 May 2026

Definition of masters

Verb

Then founder and master distiller Joe McGirr subjects his spirit to a vapor chamber chockablock with even more juniper.

— Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
This allows cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and no longer arbitrarily subjects them to traffic control measures designed for other types of vehicles.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 11 July 2026

Definition of subjects

Browse Nearby Words

subduers

subdues

subduing

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Subdues.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subdues. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of subdues

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on subdues

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

august

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes