subordinating adjective : having the capacity to subordinate or the function of subordinating; usually: introducing a subordinate clause : joining a subordinate to a main clause < if in “I will come if I can” and until in “they fished until it was dark” are subordinating conjunctions > • sub·or·di·nat·ing·ly\ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷, ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷\adverb