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subside

verb

Simple meaning

To fall downward.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

suhbsyd

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

səbˈsaɪd

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To fall downward; to become lower; to descend; to sink.

  2. intransitive

    To sink or fall to the bottom; to settle, as lees.

  3. intransitive

    To fall into a state of calm; to be calm again; to settle down; to become tranquil.

  4. intransitivecolloquial

    To cease talking.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To fall downward; to become lower; to descend; to sink.

Used this way, subside 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 subside

  • “The mud subsides when the waters become calm.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

gradually subsideusually subsidesubside aftersoon subsidesubside beforesubside spontaneouslyquickly subsidegenerally subside

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • subsidiarynounDerived noun

    An assistant subject to the authority or control of another.

  • subsidynounDerived noun

    A grant paid by a government to an enterprise that benefits the public.

  • subsidencenounDerived noun

    An abatement in intensity or degree (as in the manifestations of a disease).

  • subsidizeverbDerived verb

    Support through subsidies.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to fall downward

settle

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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.