subjugate

English

Etymology 1

Romans Under the Yoke (1858), Charles Gleyre

First attested in 1447; from Middle English subjugaten (“to conquer, subjugate”), from subjugat(e) (“subjugated, made submissive, obedient”, also used as the past participle of subjugaten) +‎ -en (verb-forming suffix), from Latin subiugātus, perfect passive participle of subiugō (“to bring under the yoke, subjugate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from sub- (“under”) + iugō (“yoke”), from iugum +‎ -ō. See yoke.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒʊˌɡeɪt/, /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒəˌɡeɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒəˌɡeɪt/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -eɪt
• Hyphenation: sub‧ju‧gate

Verb

subjugate (third-person singular simple present subjugates, present participle subjugating, simple past and past participle subjugated)

1. (transitive) To forcibly impose obedience or servitude upon.

   Synonyms: underyoke, enthrall

   • 1782, William Cowper, “Hope”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 151:

     From infancy through childhood's giddy maze, / Frovvard at ſchool, and fretful in his plays, / The puny tyrant burns to ſubjugate / The free republic of the vvhip-gig ſtate.

Related terms

• subjugation

Translations

to forcibly impose obedience or servitude

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: اِسْتَعْبَدَ (istaʕbada), قَهَرَ (qahara)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: падпарадко́ўваць impf (padparadkóŭvacʹ), падпара́дкаваць pf (padparádkavacʹ), пакара́ць impf (pakarácʹ), пакары́ць pf (pakarýcʹ), заняво́льваць impf (zanjavólʹvacʹ), заняво́ліць pf (zanjavólicʹ) (enslave)
• Bulgarian: подчиня́вам (bg) impf (podčinjávam), подчиня́ pf (podčinjá), покоря́вам (bg) impf (pokorjávam), покоря́ (bg) pf (pokorjá), поро́бвам (bg) impf (poróbvam), поро́бя pf (poróbja) (enslave)
• Catalan: subjugar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 征服 (zh) (zhēngfú), 制服 (zh) (zhìfú), 制伏 (zh) (zhìfú)

• Czech: podmanit si pf, podrobit si pf
• Dutch: onderwerpen (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: alistaa (fi)
• French: assujettir (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: unterjochen (de), unterwerfen (de)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌸𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽 (anaþiwan)
• Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: leigáz (hu)
• Italian: soggiogare (it)
• Khiamniungan Naga: thàngmàng
• Latin: subiugō (Classical), redūcō (Mediaeval)
• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Macedonian: потчинува impf (potčinuva), потчини pf (potčini), покорува impf (pokoruva), покори pf (pokori), подјармува impf (podjarmuva), подјарми pf (podjarmi)
• Maori: whakataurekareka, whakataurekareka, tāmi, pāpā (mi), pēhi
• Middle English: daunten
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: underkue, underlegge, underkaste

• Persian: منقاد کردن (monqâd kardan)
• Polish: podporządkowywać (pl) impf, podporządkować (pl) pf, zniewalać impf, zniewolić (pl) pf (enslave)
• Portuguese: subjugar (pt)
• Romanian: subjuga (ro)
• Russian: подчиня́ть (ru) impf (podčinjátʹ), подчини́ть (ru) pf (podčinítʹ), покоря́ть (ru) impf (pokorjátʹ), покори́ть (ru) pf (pokorítʹ), порабоща́ть (ru) impf (poraboščátʹ), поработи́ть (ru) pf (porabotítʹ) (enslave)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: podjármiti (sh), podvlástiti (sh), podčìniti (sh), potčìniti, podvrgnuti (sh)

• Sicilian: suttamèttiri
• Slovak: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: sojuzgar (es)
• Swedish: underkuva (sv)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ugaritic: 𐎄𐎍𐎍 (dll)
• Ukrainian: підкоря́ти impf (pidkorjáty), підкори́ти pf (pidkorýty), підпорядко́вувати impf (pidporjadkóvuvaty), підпорядкува́ти pf (pidporjadkuváty), понево́лювати impf (ponevóljuvaty), понево́лити pf (ponevólyty) (enslave)

Etymology 2

First attested in 1429; from Middle English subjugat(e) (“subjugated, obedient, made submissive”, also used as the past participle of subjugaten), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more. Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒʊ.ɡɪt/, /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒə.ɡɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈsʌb.d͡ʒə.ɡɪt/
• Hyphenation: sub‧ju‧gate

Adjective

subjugate (not comparable)

1. In a subjugated position.
   • 2010, James M. Volo, A History of War Resistance in America, page 17:

     Each nationalist struggle assumed the complexion of a Communist versus non-Communist conflict rather than one between a colonial imperium and a subjugate indigenous population intent on their independence.

2. (obsolete, as a participle) subjugated

Further reading

• “subjugate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “subjugate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Latin

Verb

subjugāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of subjugō