subject (n.)

  1. the subject matter of a conversation or discussion; he didnt want to discuss that subject; it was a very sensitive topic; his letters were always on the theme of love

    [ Syn: topic , theme ]

  2. something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation; a moving picture of a train is more dramatic than a still picture of the same subject

    [ Syn: content , depicted object ]

  3. a branch of knowledge; in what discipline is his doctorate?; teachers should be well trained in their subject; anthropology is the study of human beings

    [ Syn: discipline , subject area , subject field , field , field of study , study , bailiwick ]

  4. some situation or event that is thought about; he kept drifting off the topic; he had been thinking about the subject for several years; it is a matter for the police

    [ Syn: topic , issue , matter ]

  5. (grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated

  6. a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation; the subjects for this investigation were selected randomly; the cases that we studied were drawn from two different communities

    [ Syn: case , guinea pig ]

  7. a person who owes allegiance to that nation; a monarch has a duty to his subjects

    [ Syn: national ]

  8. (logic) the first term of a proposition

    subject (adj.)

  1. possibly accepting or permitting; a passage capable of misinterpretation; open to interpretation; an issue open to question; the time is fixed by the director and players and therefore subject to much variation

    [ Syn: capable , open ]

  2. being under the power or sovereignty of another or others; subject peoples; a dependent prince

    [ Syn: dependent ]

  3. likely to be affected by something; the bond is subject to taxation; he is subject to fits of depression'

    subject (v.)

  1. cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to; He subjected me to his awful poetry; The sergeant subjected the new recruits to many drills; People in Chernobyl were subjected to radiation'

  2. make accountable for; He did not want to subject himself to the judgments of his superiors'

  3. make subservient; force to submit or subdue

    [ Syn: subjugate ]

  4. refer for judgment or consideration; The lawyers submitted the material to the court

    [ Syn: submit ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.