different between overbear vs subdue

English

Etymology

From Middle English overberen; equivalent to over- +? bear.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??v??b??/

Verb

overbear (third-person singular simple present overbears, present participle overbearing, simple past overbore, past participle overborne)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To carry over. [10th-14th c.]
2. (transitive) To push through by physical weight or strength; to overwhelm, overcome. [from 16th c.]
3. (transitive) To prevail over; to dominate, overpower; to oppress. [from 16th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.11:

     It often fals, in course of common life, / That right long time is overborne of wrong […].

4. (intransitive) To produce an overabundance of fruit. [from 18th c.]

Derived terms

• overbearing

English

Etymology

From Middle English subdewen, subduen, sodewen, from Old French souduire, from Latin subd?c? (“to draw away”), perhaps influenced by subd? (“to subdue, subject”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /s?b?du/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /s?b?dju?/, /s?b?d?u?/, /s?b-/
• Rhymes: -u?
• Hyphenation: sub?due

Verb

subdue (third-person singular simple present subdues, present participle subduing, simple past and past participle subdued)

1. To overcome, quieten, or bring under control.
2. To bring (a country) under control by force.

Synonyms

• underbring

Related terms

Translations