subordination

noun

sub·​or·​di·​na·​tion sə-ˌbȯr-də-ˈnā-shən 

: placement in a lower class, rank, or position : the act or process of subordinating someone or something or the state of being subordinated

As a prescriptive text, moreover, the Bible has been interpreted as justifying the subordination of women to men.

—Cullen Murphy

The price is individual subordination to the group and limited autonomy of the nuclear family.

—Corinne N. Nydegger

After 1688, as before, the message was one of subordination to divinely constituted authority, whether of kings or of one's social superiors.

—Richard W. Davis

Synonyms

• compliance
• conformity
• obedience
• submission

Examples of subordination in a Sentence

an oligarchy requires subordination by the masses to the will of a tiny elite

Recent Examples on the Web

What this adds up to, Payne argues, is the near-total subordination of political discourse to group identities. —Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2024

Because of the Palestinians’ statelessness and the PA’s subordination to Israel, no Palestinian leader can influence outcomes in the same ways that an Israeli or U.S. counterpart can. —Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024

Automotive executives in the South argue the region has developed an alternative labor relations model that provides management with flexibility, offers wages and benefits superior to what local workers have earned previously and frees employees from any subordination to union directives. —Bob Bussel, The Conversation, 20 Apr. 2024

To be sure, vassalage to China will not necessarily constitute full and unconditional subordination. —Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

subordination

noun

sub·​or·​di·​na·​tion sə-ˌbȯrd-ᵊn-ˈā-shən 

: an act or instance of subordinating

also : the remedy of subordinating a claim see also equitable subordination