Submissive

How to spell submissive

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce submissive

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does submissive mean?

1. adjectiveInclined to yield meekly to the authority or will of others rather than asserting oneself.

Submissive in a sentence

• The new recruit was quiet and submissive, accepting every order without complaint.

• Years of strict management had left the staff oddly submissive in meetings.

Where does submissive come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb submittere, which combined sub, meaning 'under' or 'below', with mittere, meaning 'to send' or 'to let go'. Literally, then, it described the act of placing something underneath or yielding it, and its past participle submissus carried the sense of 'lowered' or 'humbled'. English shaped the adjective in the early 1500s by adding the familiar -ive ending, which turns a verb idea into a quality, giving the meaning 'inclined to yield or obey'. The same mittere root quietly powers a huge family of English words, including 'mission', 'submit', 'permit', and 'transmit', all built on the idea of sending. Remembering that buried 'miss' (as in 'mission') explains the double s in the middle, which is the spot writers most often get wrong.

How the word is built

• sub- (under)
• miss (from Latin missus, sent)
• -ive (adjective suffix)