Library / English Dictionary

CONQUER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Bring under control by force or authority

Example:

conquer one's desires

Synonyms:

conquer; stamp down; subdue; suppress

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "conquer" is one way to...):

check; contain; control; curb; hold; hold in; moderate (lessen the intensity of; temper; hold in restraint; hold or keep within limits)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "conquer"):

choke back; choke down; choke off (suppress)

hush; hush up; quieten; shut up; silence; still (cause to be quiet or not talk)

burke (get rid of, silence, or suppress)

silence (keep from expression, for example by threats or pressure)

quell; quench; squelch (suppress or crush completely)

quench (electronics: suppress (sparking) when the current is cut off in an inductive circuit, or suppress (an oscillation or discharge) in a component or device)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

conquering (the act of conquering)

conqueror (someone who is victorious by force of arms)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Overcome by conquest

Example:

conquer a country

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "conquer" is one way to...):

defeat; get the better of; overcome (win a victory over)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

conquering (the act of conquering)

conqueror (someone who is victorious by force of arms)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take possession of by force, as after an invasion

Example:

The militia captured the castle

Synonyms:

appropriate; capture; conquer; seize

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "conquer" is one way to...):

arrogate; assume; seize; take over; usurp (seize and take control without authority and possibly with force; take as one's right or possession)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "conquer"):

carry (capture after a fight)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something from somebody

Derivation:

conquering (the act of conquering)

Credits

 Context examples: 

If the nobles had not conquered the poor folk it is like enough that we should not have conquered the nobles.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“For what did Jekyll”—he caught himself up at the word with a start, and then conquering the weakness—“what could Jekyll want with it?

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Return as heroes who have fought and conquered and who know not what it is to turn their backs on the foe.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

How often I stopped with the intention of returning, and yet every time my pride conquered my fear, and sent me on again until my object should be attained.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But where is her all-conquering brother?

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

I am influenced—conquered; and the influence is sweeter than I can express; and the conquest I undergo has a witchery beyond any triumph I can win.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But I must be more in want of a friend, or an agreeable companion, than I have yet been, to take the trouble of conquering any body's reserve to procure one.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

Elizabeth, still more affected, was earnest and solemn in her reply; and at length, by repeated assurances that Mr. Darcy was really the object of her choice, by explaining the gradual change which her estimation of him had undergone, relating her absolute certainty that his affection was not the work of a day, but had stood the test of many months' suspense, and enumerating with energy all his good qualities, she did conquer her father's incredulity, and reconcile him to the match.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Without any display of doing more than the rest, or any fear of doing too much, he was always true to her interests, and considerate of her feelings, trying to make her good qualities understood, and to conquer the diffidence which prevented their being more apparent; giving her advice, consolation, and encouragement.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

If you are dependent on opioids, joule, cigarettes, or on eating cookies in bed at midnight—no matter what it is—you can also find a way to conquer that habit and end it.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)