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Since jugus means "yoke" in Latin, subjugate means literally "bring under the yoke". Farmers control oxen by means of a heavy wooden yoke over their shoulders. In ancient Rome, conquered soldiers, stripped of their uniforms, might actually be forced to pass under an ox yoke as a sign of submission to the Roman victors. Even without an actual yoke, what happens to a population that has come under the control of another can be every bit as humiliating. In dozens of countries throughout the world, ethnic minorities are denied basic rights and view themselves as subjugated by their country's government, army, and police.
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Examples of subjugate in a Sentence
Steven Simon, Foreign Affairs, 3 Jan. 2025
Despite a propaganda campaign encouraging all Americans to come together and do their part to defeat the Axis and totalitarianism, the U.S. military remained rigidly segregated with people of color subjugated into subordinate roles and Black soldiers discriminated against abroad and at home.
—Tracie Canada / Made By History, TIME, 1 Jan. 2025
Though Black residents of British colonies in the Caribbean were typically governed by slave codes designed to subjugate them and support white supremacy, the British Army refused to subject the man to these harsh measures.
—Kinsey Gidick, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
In both Syria and Iraq, the security of the central government depended on Iran—and because Iran is a Shiite sectarian power, the Sunnis ended up ignored, subjugated, or just plain shafted.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Dec. 2024
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“Subjugate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subjugate. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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subjugate
verb
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