subject
[noun]
Synonyms:
- topic, affair, business, issue, matter, object, point, question, substance, theme
- citizen, national, subordinate
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- subordinate, dependent, inferior, obedient, satellite
- subject to: liable to, exposed to, in danger of, open to, prone to, susceptible to, vulnerable to, conditional on, contingent on, dependent on
[verb]
Synonyms:
- put through, expose, lay open, submit, treat

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Antonyms: dominant, sovereign
Contrasted words: elaboration, enlargement, enlarging, expatiation, development, explication
Related Words: material, substance, problem, question, leitmotiv, core, meat, servile, slavish, subservient, apt, likely

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English Thesaurus: citizen, national, resident, native, subject, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. sub‧ject¹ S2 W1 /ˈsʌbdʒɪkt/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin subjectus, from subicere 'to put under your control', from jacere 'to throw']

1. THING TALKED ABOUT the thing you are talking about or considering in a conversation, discussion, book, film etc:
Paul has strong opinions on most subjects.
The subjects covered in this chapter are exercise and nutrition.
subject of
Truffaut’s childhood memories were the subject of his first film.
While we’re on the subject of money, do you have the $10 you owe me?
► Do not say ‘the subject is about ... ’: The subject of the poem is war. | The poem is about war. ⇒ subject matter

2. AT SCHOOL an area of knowledge that you study at a school or university:
My favorite subject is math.

3. IN ART the thing or person that you show when you paint a picture, take a photograph etc:
Monet loved to use gardens as his subjects.

4. IN A TEST a person or animal that is used in a test or experiment:
The subjects of this experiment were all men aged 18–35.

5. GRAMMAR a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that usually comes before a main verb and represents the person or thing that performs the action of the verb, or about which something is stated, for example ‘she’ in ‘She hit John’ or ‘elephants’ in ‘Elephants are big’ ⇒ object¹(6)

6. CITIZEN formal someone who was born in a country that has a king or queen, or someone who has a right to live there:
a British subject
⇒ citizen(2), national²

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. subject² adjective

1. be subject to something
a) if someone or something is subject to something, especially something bad, it is possible or likely that they will be affected by it:
All flights are subject to delay.
Prices are subject to change.
b) if something is subject to something such as approval, it depends on that thing happening before it can happen:
The funding is subject to approval by the Board of Education.

2. be subject to a rule/law/penalty/tax etc if you are subject to a rule, law, penalty etc, you must obey the rule or pay an amount of money:
Violators are subject to a $100 fine.

3. [only before noun] formal a subject country, state, people etc are strictly governed by another country:
subject peoples

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

III. sub‧ject³ /səbˈdʒekt/ verb [transitive]
formal to force a country or group of people to be ruled by you, and control them very strictly
subject somebody/something to something phrasal verb
to force someone or something to experience something very unpleasant, especially over a long time:
Police subjected him to hours of questioning.
subject somebody to an ordeal/abuse/harassment
Barker subjected his victim to awful abuse.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

subject
adj. subject to sth
I. likely to be affected by sth
VERBS be, seem | become | leave sb/sth, make sb/sth His illness left him subject to asthmatic attacks.
ADV. very | increasingly | rather | still At this stage these are proposals and are still subject to change.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

subject
II. under the authority of sb/sth
VERBS be Everyone was entirely subject to the whim of the Sultan.
become | remain | make sb/sth All the priories were made directly subject to the abbot of Cluny.
ADV. entirely | directly | expressly

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

subject
noun
I. topic or person under consideration
ADJ. big, complex, vast | simple | excellent, fascinating, good, interesting | cheerful Can we talk about a more cheerful subject?
gloomy, unpleasant | delicate, difficult, embarrassing | taboo Work is a taboo subject when we go out for dinner.
closed I don't wish to discuss it any further?the subject is closed.
chosen Each candidate has to speak for three minutes on their chosen subject.
pet Once he gets onto his pet subject there's no stopping him.
VERB + SUBJECT cover, debate, discuss, talk about, touch on We touched briefly on the subject.
deal with I wasn't quite sure how to deal with the delicate subject of money.
examine, have a (fresh) look at, investigate, look into We want to have a fresh look at the difficult subject of social security benefits.
bring up, broach, get onto, raise | drop Let's drop the subject since we don't seem to be able to agree.
stick to I wish he'd stick to the subject rather than telling us his boring stories.
get off, wander off She was supposed to be speaking about sales figures, but she kept wandering off the subject. | get back to, return to Getting back to the subject of heating, has anyone got any suggestions for improvements?
avoid | change Don't change the subject.
SUBJECT + VERB arise, come up The subject of gambling has come up several times recently.
SUBJECT + NOUN matter I like the way she writes, although I'm not interested in her subject matter.
PREP. on a/the ~ While we're on the subject of the theatre, has anyone been to see the new show?
PHRASES a range of subjects We discussed a wide range of subjects.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

subject
II. area of study
ADJ. difficult, easy | compulsory, core, main | additional, optional, special, subsidiary | specialist | arts, science | academic
VERB + SUBJECT take What subjects are you taking at A level?
offer The department offers seven different subjects in all.
fail (in), pass She was disappointed to fail in two of her four subjects.
drop
SUBJECT + NOUN area The syllabus is divided into five subject areas.
PREP. in a/the ~ He did well in every subject.
PHRASES a choice of subject/subjects His unusual choice of subjects made it harder to find a job.
a range of subjects

NOTE subjects of study

do, read, study ~ do ~ is more commonly used with school subjects (but may also be used with university subjects):    She did maths, physics and chemistry at school. study ~ is used with both school and university subjects:    He studied German at school.    She went on to study mathematics at university. read ~ is only used with university subjects and is quite formal:    She was educated privately and at Pembroke College, where she read classics. lecture in, teach ~    He taught music at a school in Edinburgh. Other verbs used with subject can also be used with particular subjects of study:    Half the students take geography at A level. We offer accounting as a subsidiary course. ~ degree, a degree/diploma in ~    a law degree    a higher diploma in fine art ~ class, course, lecture, lesson    The genetics lectures are on a different campus. ~ department, a/the department of ~    All enquiries should be made to the Department of Architecture. ~ graduate, student, undergraduate    Some architecture graduates gain further qualifications in specialist fields. ~ lecturer, teacher, tutor    He's an English teacher at Highland Road School. ~ professor, (a) professor of ~    She's professor of linguistics at the University of Wales. the study of ~    The study of philosophy helps you to think critically. in ~    He got As in history and art.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

subject

discuss/talk about a subject
Have you discussed the subject with your husband?
change the subject (=start talking about something different)
She tried to change the subject.
mention a subject
The subject was not mentioned again.
deal with/cover a subject (=speak or write about it)
The subject is dealt with in great detail in his previous book.
touch on a subject (=say or write a little about it)
In his speech, he touched on the subject of death.
bring up/raise a subject (=deliberately start talking about it)
You brought the subject up, not me.
get onto a subject (=happen to start talking about it)
We somehow got onto the subject of detective stories.
broach a subject (=start talking about a sensitive subject)
She hesitated, wondering exactly how to broach the subject of their sleeping arrangements.
get back to a subject
Somehow I just knew in the end we would get back to the subject of money.
drop a subject (=stop talking about it)
To her relief, Julius dropped the subject.
avoid/keep off/stay off a subject (=not talk about it)
I knew he was trying to avoid the subject of drugs.
She hoped that Anna would keep off the subject of Luke for the next few hours.
get somebody off a subject (=make them talk about something else)
It was difficult to get him off the subject of cars.
a subject comes up (=people start talking about it)
The subject of payment never came up.
an interesting/fascinating subject
Fame is a fascinating subject.
a difficult/complex subject (=very complicated)
Immigration is a complex subject.
a controversial subject
The content of the curriculum has become a controversial subject.
a sensitive/touchy subject (=one that people may get upset about)
Steer clear of complicated issues or sensitive subjects.
a delicate subject (=one that may be embarrassing)
She carefully avoided discussing the delicate subject of money.
a taboo subject (=one that it is not acceptable to mention)
For them, death was not a taboo subject.
a subject of/for discussion
TV is a favourite subject for discussion.
a subject of conversation
She searched for a new subject of conversation.
a subject of/for debate (=a subject people discuss and disagree about)
The reason for the increased risk of cancer is still a subject of debate.
a subject of controversy (=a subject people disagree about strongly)
Nuclear power is still the subject of considerable controversy.
a subject area (=a group of related subjects)
He has written a lot in this subject area.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

subject
noun
BAD: The subject of my thesis is about women in the popular press.
GOOD: The subject of my thesis is women in the popular press.

Usage Note:
Subject is not followed by about . Note the alternative: 'My thesis is about women in the popular press.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

citizen someone who lives in a particular town, country, or state:
In order to become a US citizen, you need to have a Permanent Resident card.
All British citizens have the right to live in the UK.
Good citizens understand that they have a responsibility to the community.
national a citizen of a country who is living in another country:
She insisted that foreign nationals were safe in the country.
Russians nationals were ordered to leave.
Her husband is a French national.
resident someone who lives in a particular street or area:
There have been complaints by local residents about the building work.
She was a resident of Chicago for many years.
native someone who was born in a particular country but moved to another country – used when describing a person or their life:
Picasso was a native of Spain, although he spent much of his life in France.
subject someone who was born in a country that has a king or queen, and has a right to live there:
Northern Ireland citizens are British subjects.
alien formal someone who is not a legal citizen of the country they are living or working in - used in official contexts:
Employers cannot hire illegal aliens.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲