submissive
adjective
sub·mis·sive
səb-ˈmi-siv 
: submitting to others
submissive employees
submissively
adverb
submissiveness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of submissive in a Sentence
it's not in her nature to be submissive
Recent Examples on the Web
Is being submissive in that moment the quickest way to bring that moment to an end?
—
Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Tops don’t have to be hard, masc, and tall — and bottoms don’t have to be submissive, small, or fem!
—María Saldana, Them, 1 Nov. 2024
Or would restrictions effectively declare Asians and Hispanics to be undesirables, forcing them to endure a painful, submissive half assimilation into a white mainstream that would never quite accept them?
—Noah Smith, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
With a simple shift in wording, praise can also flow in the opposite direction—from the submissive partner to the dominant one—also in the name of emphasizing the existing power arrangement and ramping up pleasure and arousal.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 18 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for submissive 
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Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Tops don’t have to be hard, masc, and tall — and bottoms don’t have to be submissive, small, or fem!
—María Saldana, Them, 1 Nov. 2024
Or would restrictions effectively declare Asians and Hispanics to be undesirables, forcing them to endure a painful, submissive half assimilation into a white mainstream that would never quite accept them?
—Noah Smith, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2018
With a simple shift in wording, praise can also flow in the opposite direction—from the submissive partner to the dominant one—also in the name of emphasizing the existing power arrangement and ramping up pleasure and arousal.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 18 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for submissive
Dictionary Entries Near submissive
Cite this Entry
“Submissive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/submissive. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
submissive
adjective
sub·mis·sive
səb-ˈmis-iv
: inclined or willing to submit to others : yielding
submissively
adverb
submissiveness
noun
Etymology
from Latin submissus, past participle of submittere "to let down," from sub- "under, below" and mittere "to send, throw" — related to message
Medical Definition
submissive
adjective
sub·mis·sive
səb-ˈmis-iv
: characterized by tendencies to yield to the will or authority of others
bullying usually involves a stronger, more dominant personality coercing a weaker, more submissive personality—S. W. Twemlow et al.
S. W. Twemlow et al.
submissiveness
noun
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