Subdued

How to spell subdued

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce subdued

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does subdued mean?

1. adjectiveQuiet, restrained, or low in intensity, whether in mood, sound, colour, or light.
2. verbPast tense of subdue: brought under control, overcame, or quietened by force.

Subdued in a sentence

• adjective

  The lighting in the restaurant was subdued and warm.

• verb

  The firefighters quickly subdued the blaze before it reached the houses.

• adjective

  She seemed unusually subdued after the difficult meeting.

• verb

  The security staff subdued the unruly passenger within seconds.

Where does subdued come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin subducere, which literally meant 'to draw away from underneath' or 'to lead away', built from sub 'under' and ducere 'to lead'. In medieval Latin the form subduere came to carry the sense of bringing something low or under control, and that idea passed into Middle English as subduen in the 1300s, meaning to conquer or to bring into submission. The familiar -ed form then served as both the past tense of the verb and an adjective describing something pressed down into quietness or muted intensity. The ducere root, meaning 'to lead', is the same one that surfaces in everyday words such as 'conduct', 'reduce', and 'produce'. Knowing that the middle of the word is the lead-root 'due' helps explain the otherwise odd spelling, since it is sub plus due plus ed, not a phonetic 'subdood'.

How the word is built

• sub- (under)
• -due (from Latin ducere, to lead)
• -ed (past/adjective ending)