subjugate
UK /ˈsʌbd͡ʒʊɡət/ · US /ˈsʌbd͡ʒəɡət/ adjective, noun, verb
Forms subjugates subjugating subjugated subjugatest subjugatedst subjugateth
- adjective Forced into submission; subjugated.
- noun (rare) A person forced into submission; a subject.
- verb To forcibly impose obedience, servitude, or submission upon (a country, a people, etc.).
- verb To make (someone or something) subordinate to another person or thing; to subordinate.
- verb To tame (an animal); to domesticate.
- verb (figurative, obsolete, rare) To put (one's neck or shoulders) under a metaphorical yoke.
Synonyms
enthrall subdue underyoke vanquish repress quash keep down reduce subject
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English subiugat(e), subjugat(e) (“made submissive; obedient”), the past participle of subiugaten, subjugaten (“to conquer; to subdue”), from Latin subiugātus, subjugātus (“subjugated”), the perfect passive participle of subiugō, subjugō (“to make subject, subjugate”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘under’) + iugō, jugō (“to join; to yoke”) (from iugum (“collar for a horse; yoke for cattle”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (“to tie together, join, yoke”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). Doublet of yoke.
The noun is derived from the adjective.
From Late Middle English subiugate, subjugaten (“to conquer; to subdue”), from Latin subiugātus, subjugātus (“subjugated”): see further at etymology 1. The verb is attested slightly later than the adjective.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To subdue, and bring under the yoke of power or dominion; to conquer by force, and compel to submit to the government or absolute control of another; to vanquish.
Etymology [L. subjugatus, p.p. of subjugare to subjugate; sub under + jugum a yoke. See Yoke.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “subjugate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details