All 7 Uses of
subdue
in
Gone with the Wind
- Scarlett saw Melanie standing by her and, with a surge of dislike, she realized that the fly in the ointment of Atlanta would be this slight little person in black mourning dress, her riotous dark curls subdued to matronly smoothness and a loving smile of welcome and happiness on her heart-shaped face.†
Chpt 2.8
- She tried not to smile and wave too enthusiastically to the men she knew best, the ones she'd nursed in the hospital, but it was hard to subdue her dimples, hard to look as though her heart were in the grave—when it wasn't.†
Chpt 2.9
- Sugar always caught more flies than vinegar, as Mammy often said, and she was going to catch and subdue this fly, so he could never again have her at his mercy.†
Chpt 2.9 *
- There was something breathtaking in the grace of his big body which made his very entrance into a room like an abrupt physical impact, something in the impertinence and bland mockery of his dark eyes that challenged her spirit to subdue him.†
Chpt 2.12
- She could feel swift anger stir, even at this late date, as she thought of that night but she subdued it and tossed her head until the earrings danced.†
Chpt 4.34
- So very much more fun than the subdued, churchgoing, Shakespeare-reading friends of her earlier Atlanta days.†
Chpt 5.49
- Yes, it would be her cross, until she died, to keep this torment silent within her, to wear the hair shirt of shame, to feel it chafing her at every tender look and gesture Melanie would make throughout the years, to subdue forever the impulse to cry: "Don't be so kind!†
Chpt 5.55
Definition:
-
(subdue as a verb as in: subdued the opposition) to control, prevent, or make less intense -- sometimes through forceThe exact meaning of subdue depends upon its context. For example:
- "subdued a nation" -- defeated militarily and brought under control
- "subdued the fever" -- made it less intense or defeated it
- "subdued her enthusiasm" -- made it less intense
- "subdued her fears" -- made them less intense or overcame them
- "subdued my emotions" -- kept them under control
- "subdued the crowd" -- quieted or controlled it