From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsubjugatesub‧ju‧gate /ˈsʌbdʒəɡeɪt/ verb [transitive] formal BEAT/DEFEATto defeat a person or group and make them obey you The native population was subjugated and exploited.a subjugated people/nation/countrybe subjugated to somebody/something Her own needs had been subjugated to (=not considered as important as) the needs of her family.Grammar Subjugate is usually passive. —subjugation /ˌsʌbdʒəˈɡeɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
subjugate• He was correct in so far as our forebears were piteously shattered but quite wrong in thinking that they could be subjugated.• She draws on subterranean forces to subjugate and control.• And she had thought she could subjugate him!• In cases concerning children it is often necessary to subjugate justice to the adults to the interests of the children.• Because that power comes so naturally, the elder women may not have felt the need to subjugate men.• Peter firmly subjugated the Church to the State.• It would mean at the very least, firmly subjugating the Commission to an elected authority.• In 1619, the Dutch subjugated the island of Java.• The war, he said, had been launched to save the Union, not to subjugate the South.Origin subjugate (1400-1500) Latin past participle of subjugare, from jugum “yoke” 