To render submissive; to bring under command; to reduce to mildness or obedience; to tame; as, to subdue a stubborn child; to subdue the temper or passions
If soldiers or the police subdue a group of people, they defeat them or bring them under control by using force. Senior government officials admit they have not been able to subdue the rebels
put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"