SUBDUED • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Subdued

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/səbdˈud/ 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.

adjective

Subdued adj.

1.

Conquered; overpowered; crushed; submissive; mild.

2.

Not glaring in color; soft in tone.

See images of 'Subdued'

Etymology of 'Subdued'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Subdued" Quotes from Famous Books

... boat and at the sea, and then, in the stayed subdued manner that had become too habitual to her, she ...

— The Mermaid - A Love Tale • Lily Dougall

... time in their acquaintance, the good soul kneeled down and prayed aloud for this man. And this time he prayed at length with ardor and tenderness unspeakable. He prayed as for a brother on the brink of a precipice. He wrestled with Heaven; and ere he concluded he heard a subdued sound near him, and it was poor Robinson, who, touched and penetrated by such angelic love, and awestruck to hear a good man pour out his very soul at the mercy-seat of Heaven, had crept timidly to his side and knelt there, bearing his mute ...

— It Is Never Too Late to Mend • Charles Reade

... were sporting in the sunbeams; the melancholy plaint of the ringdove came out sweetly from the trees, mingled with the songs of other birds, and the still sweeter voice of some happy groups of children at play in the distance. The light of the hour, in its subdued but golden tone, fell with singular clearness upon all nature, giving to it that tranquil beauty which makes every thing the eye rests upon glide with quiet rapture into the heart. The moth butterflies ...

— Jane Sinclair; Or, The Fawn Of Springvale - The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two • William Carleton

... Morley's card was brought up and, seeing Sir William look rather subdued, I told the servant to ask him to wait in my boudoir for a few minutes and assured my guest that I was in no hurry for him to go; but Harcourt began to fidget about and after a little he insisted on John Morley coming up. We ...

— Margot Asquith, An Autobiography: Volumes I & II • Margot Asquith

... affair in the court of heaven. The want of this was the reason that the deliverance of Israel did linger so long in former times. "O," says he, "that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him; but their time should have endured ...

— The Works of John Bunyan • John Bunyan

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