submissive

adjective

sub·​mis·​sive səb-ˈmi-siv 

: submitting to others

submissive employees

submissively adverb

submissiveness noun

Synonyms

• amenable
• biddable
• compliant
• conformable
• docile
• law-abiding
• obedient
• tractable

Examples of submissive in a Sentence

it's not in her nature to be submissive

Recent Examples on the Web

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

Either of us could play a submissive or a dominant role, depending on the mood. —Laura Roscioli, refinery29.com, 22 Jan. 2024

Europe remained submissive in exchange for a spot underneath the U.S. defense umbrella. —Alina Polyakova, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above

Kids 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.

submissiveness noun