Submissive Meaning
/səbˈmɪsɪv/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjMeekly obedient or passive; obsequious.
"If the human being who answers these tendencies assumes a submissive behavior, in essence a lowering of head and shoulders, wavering glance, absence of all preparations for attack, general weakening of muscle tonus, and hesitancy in movement, the movements of attempt at mastery become modified into attempts at the more obvious swagger, strut and glare of triumph."
"The powerful managers for government were not sufficiently submissive to the pleasure of the possessors of immediate and personal favour, sometimes from a confidence in their own strength natural and acquired; sometimes from a fear of offending their friends, and weakening that lead in the country, which gave them a consideration independent of the court."— 1756, Edmund Burke, The Works of the Right Honorable Edmund Burke, G. Bell & sons, page 314:
adjDesiring or engaging in sexual submission.
nounOne who submits to a dominating partner in BDSM practices.
nounOne who submits.
"These "submissives" continued to go along as near as possible following the old routine of their lives and did no overt act to annoy any of the parties of whites that persisted in traveling through their country."— 1961, William Compton Brown, The Indian side of the story:
Sentence Examples
She has a submissive personality.
Tom is obedient, almost submissive.
Jake, a dominant, advertised for a compatible submissive online.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The little dog was so ____ that it always obeyed every command.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dog became very ____ when its owner spoke in a stern voice, immediately sitting down on the rug.
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The little dog was so ____ that it always obeyed every command.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The dog became very ____ when its owner spoke in a stern voice, immediately sitting down on the rug.