Added 9 October 2026

subject

/ˈsʌb.d͡ʒɛkt/ adjective

In Latin: subiectus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about subject at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Likely to be affected by or to experience something; liable.
a country subject to extreme heat
Conditional upon something; used with to.
The local board sets local policy, subject to approval from the State Board.
Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.

The noun, pronoun or noun phrase about whom the statement is made. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject is the actor. In clauses in the passive voice the subject is the target of the action.
In the active sentence ‘The cat ate the mouse’, ‘the cat’ is the subject and ‘the mouse’ is the object.
By extension: an actor or agent; one who takes action.
the subjects and objects of power
The main topic of a paper, work of art, discussion, field of study, etc.

To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted.
I came here to buy souvenirs, not to be subjected to a tirade of abuse!
To make subordinate or subservient; to subdue or enslave; to subjugate.

From Middle English subget, from Old French suget, from Latin subiectus (“lying under or near, adjacent, also subject, exposed”), as a noun, subiectus (“a subject, an inferior”), subiectum (“the subject of a proposition”), past participle of subiciō (“throw, lay, place”), from sub (“under, at the foot of”) + iaciō (“throw, hurl”), as a calque of Ancient Greek ὑποκείμενον (hupokeímenon).