Added 9 October 2026
subjugate
/ˈsʌbd͡ʒʊɡət/ adjective
In Latin: subiugātus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about subjugate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Forced into submission; subjugated.
noun
- A person forced into submission; a subject.
verb
- To forcibly impose obedience, servitude, or submission upon (a country, a people, etc.).
- To make (someone or something) subordinate to another person or thing; to subordinate.
- To tame (an animal); to domesticate.
Origin
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 Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)