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SUBDUED
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lacking in light; not bright or harsh
Example:
subdued lights and soft music
Synonyms:
dim; subdued
Classified under:
Similar:
dark (devoid of or deficient in light or brightness; shadowed or black)
Derivation:
subduedness (the property of lights or sounds that lack brilliance or are reduced in intensity)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Not brilliant or glaring
Example:
subdued lighting
Synonyms:
soft; subdued
Classified under:
Similar:
dull (emitting or reflecting very little light)
Sense 3
Meaning:
In a softened tone
Example:
a quiet reprimand
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
soft ((of sound) relatively low in volume)
Derivation:
subduedness (the property of lights or sounds that lack brilliance or are reduced in intensity)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Restrained in style or quality
Example:
a little masterpiece of low-keyed eloquence
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
restrained (under restraint)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Quieted and brought under control
Example:
children were subdued and silent
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
tame (very restrained or quiet)
Derivation:
subduedness (a disposition to be patient and long suffering)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Past simple / past participle of the verb subdue
Context examples:
The fever was subdued; the fever had been his complaint; of course he would soon be well again.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
Every little while, however, one dog or another would flame up in revolt and be promptly subdued.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
Laurie drew his hand across his eyes, but could not speak till he had subdued the choky feeling in his throat and steadied his lips.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The Prime Minister’s manner was subdued, but I could see by the gleam of his eyes and the twitchings of his bony hands that he shared the excitement of his young colleague.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Then her husband turned to her wan-eyed and with a greenish pallor which subdued the snowy whiteness of his hair, and asked:—And must I, too, make such a promise, oh, my wife?
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as man may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something that called—called, waking or sleeping, at all times, for him to come.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
'You could almost narrate the body changes and narrate the dream. She sees a crab and her color starts to change a little bit, then she turns all dark, octopuses will do that when they leave the bottom.' 'This is a camouflage, like she's just subdued a crab and she's just going to sit there and eat it, and she doesn't want anyone to notice her.' 'It's a very unusual behavior to see the color come and go on her mantle like that, just to be able to see all the different color patterns flashing one after the other, you don't normally see that when an animal's sleeping.'
(Octopuses can dream, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The chancellor rose, and having slowly unrolled the parchment-scroll, proceeded to read it out in a thick and pompous voice, while a subdued rustle and movement among the brothers bespoke the interest with which they followed the proceedings.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
As impassive as ever to the casual observer, there were none the less a subdued eagerness and suggestion of tension in his brightened eyes and brisker manner which assured me that the game was afoot.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
And though it is terrible to you to hear, said Mr. Wickfield, quite subdued, if you knew how terrible it is for me to tell, you would feel compassion for me!
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
