Meaning & use
submissive
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Willing to obey others and accept what they decide, without arguing.
Grammar: Can follow be or come before a noun: a submissive child; she was submissive.
Patterns
- submissive to someone
- be submissive
The submissive employee never questioned his boss.
She was submissive to her parents' wishes.
The puppy rolled over in a submissive pose.
adjectivebefore a nounbiology
Showing that an animal accepts a stronger one, by lowering its body or avoiding its eyes.
Grammar: Often used about animal behavior: submissive behavior.
Patterns
- submissive behavior
- a submissive posture
The dog showed submissive behavior by lowering its head.
Wolves use submissive postures to avoid fights.
The smaller monkey gave a submissive grimace.
Word forms
| comparative | more submissive |
|---|---|
| superlative | most submissive |
Common combinations
- submissive to authority
- Citizens were taught to be submissive to authority.
- submissive behavior
- The dog displayed submissive behavior.
- a submissive nature
- Her submissive nature made her an easy target.
- submissive role
- He refused to play a submissive role.
- meek and submissive
- The servants were meek and submissive.
Synonyms and how they differ
- obedient
- Obedient is usually praise for following rules, while submissive suggests giving up one's own will.
- meek
- Meek suggests gentle and mild, and sometimes timid, rather than forced to yield.
- docile
- Docile describes someone easy to manage or teach, and is often used for animals.
- passive
- Passive means not acting, while submissive means accepting another's control.
Opposites
Word family
- submit verb
- to accept the authority of another, or to hand in
- submission noun
- the act of yielding to power
- submissively adverb
- in an obedient, yielding way
- submissiveness noun
- the quality of being submissive
Commonly confused: submissive or submersible? submissive or subservient?
submissive vs submersible
Submersible describes something that can operate under water, such as a small submarine, and has nothing to do with obeying.
submissive vs subservient
Subservient means too ready to obey someone of higher status, often a servant-like attitude.
Practice
The dog lowered its head and rolled over, a clear ____ gesture toward the larger dog.
Choose one answer.
Lowering the head and rolling over shows acceptance of a stronger animal, so the gesture is submissive. Aggressive is the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “submissive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.