Adjacent Words

Conquer definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CONQUER, v.t.
1. To subdue; to reduce, by physical force, till resistance is no longer made; to overcome; to vanquish. Alexander conquered Asia. The Romans conquered Carthage.
2. To gain by force; to win; to take possession by violent means; to gain dominion or sovereignty over, as the subduing of the power of an enemy generally implies possession of the person or thing subdued by the conqueror. Thus, a king or an army conquers a country, or a city, which is afterward restored.
3. To subdue opposition or resistance of the will by moral force; to overcome by argument, persuasion or other influence.
Anna conquers but to save, and governs but to bless.
He went forth conquering, and to conquer. Revelations. 6.
4. To overcome, as difficulties; to surmount, as obstacles; to subdue whatever opposes; as, to conquer the passions; to conquer reluctance.
5. To gain or obtain by effort; as, to conquer freedom; to conquer peace; a French application of the word.
CONQUER, v.i. To overcome; to gain the victory.
The champions resolved to conquer or to die.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: to put down by force or authority; "suppress a nascent uprising"; "stamp down on littering"; "conquer one's desires" [syn: suppress, stamp down, inhibit, subdue, conquer, curb]
2: take possession of by force, as after an invasion; "the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants"; "The army seized the town"; "The militia captured the castle" [syn: appropriate, capture, seize, conquer]
3: overcome by conquest; "conquer your fears"; "conquer a country"

Merriam Webster's

verb (conquered; conquering) Etymology: Middle English, to acquire, conquer, from Anglo-French conquerre, from Vulgar Latin *conquaerere, alteration of Latin conquirere to search for, collect, from com- + quaerere to ask, search Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to gain or acquire by force of arms ; subjugate <conquer territory> 2. to overcome by force of arms ; vanquish <conquered the enemy> 3. to gain mastery over or win by overcoming obstacles or opposition <conquered the mountain> 4. to overcome by mental or moral power ; surmount <conquered her fear> intransitive verb to be victorious • conqueror noun Synonyms: conquer, vanquish, defeat, subdue, reduce, overcome, overthrow mean to get the better of by force or strategy. conquer implies gaining mastery of <Caesar conquered Gaul>. vanquish implies a complete overpowering <vanquished the enemy and ended the war>. defeat does not imply the finality or completeness of vanquish which it otherwise equals <the Confederates defeated the Union forces at Manassas>. subdue implies a defeating and suppression <subdued the native tribes after years of fighting>. reduce implies a forcing to capitulate or surrender <the city was reduced after a month-long siege>. overcome suggests getting the better of with difficulty or after hard struggle <overcame a host of bureaucratic roadblocks>. overthrow stresses the bringing down or destruction of existing power <violently overthrew the old regime>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 a overcome and control (an enemy or territory) by military force. b absol. be victorious. 2 overcome (a habit, emotion, disability, etc.) by effort (conquered his fear). 3 climb (a mountain) successfully. Derivatives: conquerable adj. Etymology: ME f. OF conquerre f. Rmc f. L conquirere (as com-, quaerere seek, get)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conquer Con"quer, v. i. To gain the victory; to overcome; to prevail. He went forth conquering and to conquer. --Rev. vi. 2. The champions resolved to conquer or to die. --Waller.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Conquer Con"quer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Conquered; p. pr. & vb. n. Conquering.] [OF. conquerre, F. conqu['e]rir, fr. L. conquirere, -quisitum, to seek or search for, to bring together, LL., to conquer; con- + quaerere to seek. See Quest.] 1. To gain or acquire by force; to take possession of by violent means; to gain dominion over; to subdue by physical means; to reduce; to overcome by force of arms; to cause to yield; to vanquish. ``If thou conquer Rome.'' --Shak. If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us. --Shak. We conquered France, but felt our captive's charms. --Pope. 2. To subdue or overcome by mental or moral power; to surmount; as, to conquer difficulties, temptation, etc. By winning words to conquer hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear. --Milton. 3. To gain or obtain, overcoming obstacles in the way; to win; as, to conquer freedom; to conquer a peace. Syn: To subdue; vanquish; overcome; overpower; overthrow; defeat; rout; discomfit; subjugate; reduce; humble; crush; surmount; subject; master. Usage: To Conquer, Vanquish, Subdue, Subjugate, Overcome. These words agree in the general idea expressed by overcome, -- that of bringing under one's power by the exertion of force. Conquer is wider and more general than vanquish, denoting usually a succession of conflicts. Vanquish is more individual, and refers usually to a single conflict. Thus, Alexander conquered Asia in a succession of battles, and vanquished Darius in one decisive engagement. Subdue implies a more gradual and continual pressure, but a surer and more final subjection. We speak of a nation as subdued when its spirit is at last broken, so that no further resistance is offered. Subjugate is to bring completely under the yoke of bondage. The ancient Gauls were never finally subdued by the Romans until they were completely subjugated. These words, when used figuratively, have correspondent meanings. We conquer our prejudices or aversions by a succesion of conflicts; but we sometimes vanquish our reluctance to duty by one decided effort: we endeavor to subdue our evil propensities by watchful and persevering exertions. Subjugate is more commonly taken in its primary meaning, and when used figuratively has generally a bad sense; as, his reason was completely subjugated to the sway of his passions.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(conquers, conquering, conquered) 1. If one country or group of people conquers another, they take complete control of their land. During 1936, Mussolini conquered Abyssinia... Early in the eleventh century the whole of England was again conquered by the Vikings. VERB: V n, be V-ed 2. If you conquer something such as a problem, you succeed in ending it or dealing with it successfully. He has never conquered his addiction to smoking. ...the first man in history to conquer Everest. VERB: V n, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Vanquish, subdue, overcome, subjugate, defeat, overthrow, overpower, beat, rout, discomfit, checkmate, master, subject, reduce, humble, crush, get the better of, put down, prevail over, get the upper hand of, get the whip hand of, have on the hip. 2. Surmount, overcome. 3. Gain by effort, win by victory. II. v. n. Prevail, overcome, succeed, win, triumph, be triumphant, win success, gain the victory.

Moby Thesaurus

acquire, adopt, annex, appropriate, arrogate, assume, baffle, balk, bear down, beat, beat down, bend, best, break, break down, bring low, bring to terms, capture, circumvent, colonize, control, crush, defeat, down, enslave, fell, flatten, foil, frustrate, gain, hog, humble, humiliate, hurdle, indent, jump a claim, lick, make free with, make use of, master, monopolize, obtain, occupy, outwit, overcome, overmaster, overpower, override, overrun, overwhelm, preempt, preoccupy, prepossess, prevail, prevail over, prostrate, put down, quell, reduce, requisition, ride down, seize, sit on, smash, squat on, subdue, subject, subjugate, suppress, surmount, take all of, take it all, take over, take possession of, take up, throw, thwart, trample down, trample underfoot, tread underfoot, triumph, triumph over, tyrannize, unman, usurp, vanquish, win, worst