as in conquest
the act or process of bringing someone or something under one's control
the subjugation of much of Europe by Napoléon
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Recent Examples of subjugation
This aggressive subjugation of a country that was not, in fact, a threat to the United States doesn’t make America safer or more prosperous and likely makes the whole region less stable.
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Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 9 Jan. 2026
This level of dealmaking far exceeds the bowling alley bets and small-time street gambles that have shaped Marty’s way of moving in the world, and Rockwell represents the kind of ruthless American capitalism and competition that requires humiliation and subjugation.
—Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 25 Dec. 2025
Compared to the Russian hope at the start of the war for the total subjugation of Ukraine, and the past 400 years of Ukrainian history, it could indeed be called a qualified Ukrainian victory.
—Anatol Lieven, Time, 28 Nov. 2025
Some have also seized the opportunity to revive familiar nationalist rhetoric, invoking longstanding grievances over Japan’s subjugation of much of China in the 1930s and 40s.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Nov. 2025
The United States has supported Ukraine in resisting Russia’s attempt at subjugation, sending billions of dollars’ worth of advanced weaponry to its armed forces.
—Rebecca Lissner, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2025
If the war ends on any terms other than the total subjugation of Ukraine to Russia, an ever more aggrieved and militarized Ukraine will recover economically and rebuild its defenses with Western support.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 11 Nov. 2025
How could the woman who wrote so piercingly about women’s subjugation subjugate herself to not just one but two men?
—Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
In Monday’s order, the court stressed extensive evidence of Combs assaulting two former long-term girlfriends, among other things indicating his inclination toward violence, coercion and subjugation.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subjugation
Noun
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In the Caribbean, French admirals set their sights on the conquest of sugar islands like Jamaica—the diamonds in King George’s glittering imperial crown.—
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His plays gleefully plumb the wickedest aspects of the human psyche, delivering tales of relentless conquest, Jewish perfidy, deals with the devil, and gay love.—
Noun
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Nazism’s total domination politically and socially found an aesthetic counterpart in the visual reduction of bodies to things, ecstatically subdued before the hypnotic power of a leader, force, or sublime beauty.—
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The rest of the game is pretty much total domination.—
Noun
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On a night when the Broncos offense sputtered and Rizzi’s special teams had several face-palm moments, Skinner’s block was the Broncos’ bailout, and the differentiator that underscored a dominating performance on defense.—
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And all signs point to Malinin’s dominating in Milan, much as fellow American Nathan Chen did at the 2022 Beijing Games (Chen left competitive skating after his gold).—
Cite this Entry
“Subjugation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subjugation. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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