subordinating
verb
Form of subordinate , present participle of subordinate.
Simple meaning
Serving to connect a subordinate clause to a main clause.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
suhbawrduhnaytingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
səˈbɔɹdəneɪtɪŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To treat (someone) as of less value or importance.
present participle of subordinate
To make subservient or secondary.
transitivegrammar
To embed (a clause) into another clause that is the main one.
present participle of subordinate
Make subordinate, dependent, or subservient
“Our wishes have to be subordinated to that of our ruler.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To make subservient or secondary.
Used this way, subordinating is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use subordinating
- “`when' in `I will come when I can' is a subordinating conjunction.”adjective
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
An assistant subject to the authority or control of another.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The subordination that occurs when a conjunction makes one linguistic unit a constituent of another.
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “subordinating” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.