Meaning
Submissive means willing to obey someone else’s authority or control, often without resistance. It describes a person who tends to yield to the power, influence, or will of others.
Grammar and Usage
- Part of speech: Adjective
- Used to describe people, attitudes, or behavior.
- Often appears with verbs like be, become, remain, or seem.
- Can carry both neutral and negative connotations, depending on context.
Typical structures:
- be submissive to someone
- show submissive behavior
- remain submissive under pressure
Common Phrases
- submissive role – a role in which one accepts being led or controlled.
- submissive behavior – actions showing obedience and lack of resistance.
- submissive nature – personality trait of yielding easily.
Collocations
- verb + submissive: appear submissive, remain submissive, become submissive
- adverb + submissive: overly submissive, unusually submissive, naturally submissive
- noun + submissive: submissive behavior, submissive attitude, submissive character
Examples
- She was too submissive to challenge her boss’s decision.
- The dog became submissive when its owner raised his voice.
- His submissive nature made him an easy target for manipulation.
- The teacher encouraged students to be confident rather than submissive.
- In some cultures, children are expected to remain submissive to their elders.
- He always played the submissive role in group discussions.
- Her tone was polite but not submissive.
- The soldiers were trained to be submissive to authority.
Synonyms or Related
- obedient
- compliant
- meek
- docile
- yielding
- passive