Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense conquers, present participle conquering, past tense, past participle conquered
1. verb
If one country or group of people conquers another, they take complete control of their land.
During 1936, Mussolini conquered Abyssinia. [VERB noun]
Early in the eleventh century the whole of England was again conquered by the Vikings. [beVERB-ed]
Synonyms: seize, obtain, acquire, occupy More Synonyms of conquer
2. verb
If you conquer something such as a problem, you succeed in ending it or dealing with it successfully.
I was certain that love was quite enough to conquer our differences. [VERB noun]
He has never conquered his addiction to smoking. [VERB noun]
...the first man in history to conquer Everest. [VERB noun]
More Synonyms of conquer
conquer in British English
(ˈkɒŋkə)
verb
1.
to overcome (an enemy, army, etc); defeat
2.
to overcome (an obstacle, feeling, desire, etc); surmount
3. (transitive)
to gain possession or control of by or as if by force or war; win
4. (transitive)
to gain the love, sympathy, etc, of (someone) by seduction or force of personality
Derived forms
conquerable (ˈconquerable)
adjective
conquerableness (ˈconquerableness)
noun
conquering (ˈconquering)
adjective
conqueror (ˈconqueror)
noun
Word origin
C13: from Old French conquerre, from Vulgar Latin conquērere (unattested) to obtain, from Latin conquīrere to search for, collect, from quaerere to seek
conquer in American English
(ˈkɑŋkər; ˈkɑnkər)
verb transitive
1.
to get possession or control of by or as by winning a war
2.
to overcome by physical, mental, or moral force; get the better of; defeat
verb intransitive
3.
to make conquests; win
SYNONYMY NOTE: conquer implies gaining mastery over someone or something by physical, mental, or moral force[to conquer bad habits]; vanquish implies a thorough overpowering or frustrating, often in a single conflict or battle[a vanquished army]; to defeat is to get the better of, often only for the time being [the defeated troops rallied and counterattacked]; overcome implies the overpowering of an antagonist or the surmounting of difficulties; to, subdue is to defeat so as to break the spirit of resistance; to , subjugate is to bring under complete subjection; , overthrow implies a victory in which a prevailing power is dislodged by force; to , rout1 is to defeat so overwhelmingly that the enemy is put to disorderly flight
Derived forms
conquerable (ˈconquerable)
adjective
conqueror (ˈconqueror)
noun
Word origin
ME conqueren < OFr conquerre < VL *conquaerere (for L conquirere), to search for, procure < L com-, intens. + quaerere, to seek, acquire
More idioms containing
conquer
divide and conquer
Examples of 'conquer' in a sentence
conquer
The ending is very powerful and about love conquering all.
The Sun (2011)
And this is the first step towards conquering your illness.
Wilkinson, Steve M.E. and You - a self-help plan (1988)
They need to find their inner rogue if they are to conquer Europe again.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Force cannot permanently conquer, but kindness and protection for the people can.
Stearns, Peter N. World History: Patterns of Change and Continuity (1995)
The only way to put that defeat right will be to conquer Europe again.
The Sun (2009)
True love did not conquer all yesterday, to the disappointment of more than one old romantic.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
For me at least, the city might just be worth conquering again.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It turns out love doesn't conquer all.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
ENGLISH clubs will not conquer Europe again until they learn to play with their heads not their hearts.
The Sun (2014)
The first world war brought a conquering South African army.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
You, as the sole survivor, are charged with conquering this dark force.
The Sun (2011)
The same names came again and again and, usually, conquered again and again.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
With foreign soldiers planted in different parts of the peninsula, the threat of brute, conquering force was often in the air.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
FOR the Romans, plundering art was the sacred right of a conquering army.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Quotations
I came, I saw, I conquered (veni, vidi, vici)Julius Caesar
To conquer with arms is to make only a temporary conquest; to conquer the world by earning its esteem is to make a permanent conquestWoodrow WilsonAddress to Congress
In other languages
conquer
British English: conquer /ˈkɒŋkə/ VERB
If one country or group of people conquers another, they take complete control of their land.
The region was conquered by a foreign army.
American English: conquer
Arabic: يَفْتَحُ
Brazilian Portuguese: conquistar
Chinese: 征服
Croatian: osvojiti
Czech: porazit přemoci
Danish: erobre
Dutch: veroveren
European Spanish: conquistar
Finnish: valloittaa
French: conquérir
German: erobern
Greek: κατακτώ
Italian: conquistare
Japanese: 征服する
Korean: 정복하다
Norwegian: erobre
Polish: zdobyć
European Portuguese: conquistar
Romanian: a cuceri
Russian: завоевывать
Latin American Spanish: conquistar
Swedish: erövra
Thai: ชนะ
Turkish: fethetmek
Ukrainian: завойовувати
Vietnamese: chinh phục
Chinese translation of 'conquer'
conquer
(ˈkɔŋkəʳ)
vt
[country, enemy]征服 (zhēngfú)
[fear, feelings, problem]克服 (kèfú)
1 (verb)
Definition
to gain possession of (a place) by force or war
Early in the eleventh century the whole of England was again conquered by the Vikings.
Synonyms
seize
Troops have seized the airport and radio stations.
obtain
Evans was trying to obtain a false passport.
acquire
She has acquired a 50% stake in the company.
occupy
Alexandretta had been occupied by the French in 1918.
overrun
A group of rebels overran the port.
A military group overran them and took four of them off.
annex
Rome annexed the Nabatean kingdom in 106 AD.
win
The first correct entry will win the prize.
2 (verb)
Definition
to defeat (an opponent or opponents)
a Navajo myth about a great warrior who conquers the spiritual enemies of his people
Synonyms
defeat
His troops defeated the opposing army.
overcome
overthrow
The government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.
beat
stuff (slang)
master
tank (slang)
triumph
a symbol of good triumphing over evil
crush
The military operation was the first step in a plan to crush the uprising.
humble
lick (informal)
He might be able to lick us all in a fair fight.
undo
subdue
They admit they have not been able to subdue the rebels.
rout
The Norman army routed the English opposition.
overpower
Britain's tennis No.1 yesterday overpowered his American rival.
quell
Troops eventually quelled the unrest.
get the better of
clobber (slang)
vanquish
a happy ending in which the hero vanquishes the monsters
subjugate
Their costly attempt to subjugate the citizens lasted 10 years.
prevail over
checkmate
run rings around (informal)
wipe the floor with (informal)
make mincemeat of (informal)
put in their place
blow out of the water (slang)
bring to their knees
Opposites
lose to
,
give up to
,
submit to
,
surrender to
3 (verb)
Definition
to overcome (a difficulty or feeling)
I had learned to conquer my fear of spiders.
Synonyms
overcome
the satisfaction of overcoming a rival
beat
He was easily beaten into third place.
defeat
The challenges of constructing such a huge novel almost defeated her.
master
She needs to master her fears of becoming ill.
rise above
overpower
It took four police officers to overpower him.
get the better of
surmount
I realised I had to surmount the language barrier.
best
Quotations
I came, I saw, I conquered (veni, vidi, vici) [Julius Caesar]To conquer with arms is to make only a temporary conquest; to conquer the world by earning its esteem is to make a permanent conquest [Woodrow Wilson – Address to Congress]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of acquire
Definition
to get or develop (something such as an object, trait, or ability)