Subdue \Sub*due"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Subdued; p. pr. & vb.
n. Subduing.] [OE. soduen, OF. sosduire to seduce, L.
subtus below (fr. sub under) + ducere to lead. See Duke,
and cf. Subduct.]
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.
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I will subdue all thine enemies. --1 Chron.
xvii. 10.
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2. To overpower so as to disable from further resistance; to
crush.
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Nothing could have subdued nature
To such a lowness, but his unkind daughters. --Shak.
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If aught . . . were worthy to subdue
The soul of man. --Milton.
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3. To destroy the force of; to overcome; as, medicines subdue
a fever.
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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.
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5. To overcome, as by persuasion or other mild means; as, to
subdue opposition by argument or entreaties.
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6. To reduce to tenderness; to melt; to soften; as, to subdue
ferocity by tears.
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7. To make mellow; to break, as land; also, to destroy, as
weeds.
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8. To reduce the intensity or degree of; to tone down; to
soften; as, to subdue the brilliancy of colors.
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Syn: To conquer; overpower; overcome; surmount; vanquish. See
Conquer.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Subdued \Sub*dued"\, a.
1. Conquered; overpowered; crushed; submissive; mild.
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2. Not glaring in color; soft in tone.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
subdued
adj 1: in a softened tone; "hushed voices"; "muted trumpets"; "a
subdued whisper"; "a quiet reprimand" [syn: hushed,
muted, quiet]
2: restrained in style or quality; "a little masterpiece of
low-keyed eloquence" [syn: low-key, low-keyed]
3: quieted and brought under control; "children were subdued
and silent"
4: lacking in light; not bright or harsh; "a dim light beside
the bed"; "subdued lights and soft music" [syn: dim]
WordNet (r) 2.0
212 Moby Thesaurus words for "subdued":
Attic, Olympian, aesthetic, aloof, artistic, backward,
barely audible, bashful, bated, blank, bowed-down, broken,
brought low, calmed, cast down, chaste, chastened, chilled, chilly,
choice, classic, cold, conquered, constrained, controlled, cool,
creamy, crestfallen, crushed, damped, dampened, dashed, dead,
deadened, decrescendo, dejected, delicate, depressed, despairing,
despondent, desponding, detached, dim, discouraged, discreet,
disheartened, dispirited, distant, domesticated, dovelike, down,
downcast, downhearted, drooping, droopy, dull, dulled, eggshell,
excellent, expressionless, faint, faint-voiced, feeble,
feeling low, felled, flat, flattened, forbidding, frigid, frosty,
gentle, gloss, grave, guarded, half-heard, heartless, housebroke,
housebroken, humble, humbled, humiliated, hushed, hypochondriac,
hypochondriacal, icy, impassive, impersonal, in control,
in good taste, in hand, in low spirits, in the depths,
in the doldrums, in the dumps, inaccessible, indistinct,
introverted, iridescent, lamblike, languishing, light, limited,
low, low-key, low-spirited, made to grovel, mastered, meek, mellow,
mellowed, mild, moderated, modest, mother-of-pearl, muffled,
murmured, muted, nacreous, of choice, of quality, offish,
opalescent, pacific, pale, pastel, patinaed, peaceable, peaceful,
pearly, pessimistic, pianissimo, piano, pining, placid, pleasing,
pure, put down, quashed, quelled, quiet, reduced, remote, removed,
repressed, reserved, restrained, reticent, retiring, sad, saddened,
scarcely heard, semigloss, serious, shrinking, simple, smashed,
smothered, sober, sobered, soft, soft-colored, soft-hued,
soft-sounding, soft-voiced, softened, solemn, somber, sordo,
spiritless, squashed, squelched, stable, standoff, standoffish,
stifled, subaudible, subjugated, submissive, subtle, suffocated,
suicidal, suppressed, sweet, tame, tamed, tasteful, tasty,
temperate, tempered, tender, toned, tranquil, unaffable,
unaffected, unapproachable, unclear, uncongenial, undemonstrative,
understated, unenthusiastic, unexpansive, ungenial, unobtrusive,
vanquished, weak, weak-voiced, weary of life, well-chosen,
whispered, withdrawn, woebegone, world-weary
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
dim, hushed, low-key, low-keyed, muted, quiet
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