DictionaryAI

conquer

verb
KONG-kur/ˈkɑŋkɚ/UKKONG-kuh/ˈkɒŋkə/

Formsconquers, conquering, conquered

4 meanings of conquer

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To defeat an enemy in combat and bring them under one's control; to subjugate.

    The Spartans believed no army could conquer them on open ground.

    Caesar's legions conquered the Gallic tribes after years of brutal campaigning.

    Similardefeat, subjugate, vanquish, subdue, overpower

    Note

    The verb can stand without an object. In Lord Dunsany's The Gods of Pegāna (1905), night "fought against the Sun, and suddenly conquered": nothing is named as defeated, and conquered simply means won. More usually the object is the opponent itself, an army or a people. That separates this sense from the territorial meaning, where what is conquered is a place.

  2. 2
    verbtransitive
    To overcome an abstract obstacle, such as a fear, weakness, or difficulty.

    Therapy helped him conquer the anxiety that had kept him from traveling.

    Conquering an addiction often takes years of patient, repeated effort.

    Similarovercome, beat, master, defeat, surmount

    Note

    Here the enemy is usually inside oneself: a fear of flying, difficulties, temptations, even a feeling. In the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897), Miss Trevor has "conquered her love for the Celebrity." The verb keeps its sense of a fight, so it suits struggles told as hard-won victories over a feeling or habit rather than the clearing of a routine hurdle.

  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To acquire territory by force of arms; to win a place in war and become its ruler.

    William of Normandy conquered England in 1066 and was crowned its king.

    The sultan vowed to conquer the coastal cities and bring their trade under his rule.

    Similarseize, capture, take, annex, occupy

    Oppositelose, cede

    Note

    Here the object is a place rather than an army: Constantinople, France, India. The emphasis on gain comes from the word's history. It reached English through Old French conquerre from Latin quaerere, "to seek, acquire," and it displaced the native Old English oferwinnan. Alexander Pope's "We conquer'd France, but felt our captive's charms" (1714) shows the conquered land pictured as a captive.

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    verbdatedtransitive
    To gain, win, or obtain something through one's own effort or perseverance.

    He resolved to conquer fame through his pen alone.

    Through quiet kindness, the new governess conquered the affection of the whole household.

    Similarwin, gain, earn, obtain

    Oppositelose

    Note

    An older use in which what is conquered is a prize, not an opponent: freedom, a peace. It stays closest to the Latin "seek, acquire" behind winning territory in war. Phrases like "to conquer a peace" now sound old-fashioned. In everyday writing, win or gain says the same thing without the period flavor. Keep conquer for deliberate echoes of older prose.

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Middle English conqueren, from Old French conquerre, which traces back to Late Latin conquaerere ("to knock, strike; to search for, procure"), formed from Latin con- plus quaerere ("to seek, acquire"). It replaced the native Old English word oferwinnan.