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subdue

[suhb-doo, -dyoo] / səbˈdu, -ˈdyu /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Seven years later, President Thomas Jefferson sent the fleet—three frigates and a schooner—to subdue pirates disrupting shipping along North Africa’s Barbary Coast.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

Assassination attempts can also warp how journalists cover a president’s opposition, and subdue how that opposition behaves.

From Slate • Apr. 26, 2026

Rattlesnakes would rather save their venom to subdue their prey, she said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Fern, whose pen name wouldn’t be widely familiar until 1851, was a bright and spirited girl whose time at a religious school failed to subdue her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

But part of her, deep down, a part of her she could not quite subdue, wanted to see.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee




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