conquest
Americannoun
-
the act or state of conquering or the state of being conquered; vanquishment.
- Synonyms:
- mastery, defeat, subjugation
- Antonyms:
- surrender
-
the winning of favor, affection, love, etc..
the conquest of Antony by Cleopatra.
- Synonyms:
- enchantment, seduction
-
a person whose favor, affection, etc., has been won.
He's another one of her conquests.
-
anything acquired by conquering, as a nation, a territory, or spoils.
-
the Conquest. Norman Conquest.
noun
-
the act or an instance of conquering or the state of having been conquered; victory
-
a person, thing, etc, that has been conquered or won
-
the act or art of gaining a person's compliance, love, etc, by seduction or force of personality
-
a person, whose compliance, love, etc, has been won over by seduction or force of personality
noun
-
See Norman Conquest
-
the conquest by the United Kingdom of French North America, ending in 1763
Synonym Usage
See victory.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of conquest
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English conqueste, from Anglo-French, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin conquēsta (for Latin conquīsīta, feminine past participle of conquīrere ). See con-, quest
Explanation
Alexander the Great's famous conquest of the Persian Empire was an act of conquering. For Casanova, on the other hand, a conquest was an act of seduction. Conquest derives from the Vulgar Latin word conquaerere, meaning "to search for, procure by effort, or win." In addition to its most commonly used meanings — conquering and seduction — conquest has a third, less well-known meaning: a success in mastering something difficult, like the violin, for instance, or flying an airplane.
Vocabulary lists containing conquest
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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"Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center," Vocabulary from the speech
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Before we do a “House of the Dragon” flyby to examine its place in high fantasy’s conquest of TV and film, let’s talk about Sheepstealer.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
The comet became one of the most famous symbols associated with the year 1066 and even appears in the Bayeux Tapestry, the medieval artwork depicting the Norman conquest of England.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
Making it tougher still is sound bleed from a film detailing the 1781 British conquest of the island, a problem that headphones could solve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said there was "no diplomatic crisis" with Spain after years of frosty relations over the conquest of the North American nation.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
Although the Spaniards’ superior weapons would have assured an ultimate Spanish victory in any case, the capture made the conquest quicker and infinitely easier.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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It is the first time the artefact, which depicts events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and Norman Conquest of England in 1066, has returned to the UK in more than 900 years.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The Conquest would also have been unthinkable without the Spaniards’ alliances with the Aztecs’ aggrieved subjects, who contributed tens of thousands of warriors to the cause.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
His gift for languages -- he spoke French, English and Spanish among others -- meant he was soon appearing in international productions, such as Ridley Scott's historical epic "1492: Conquest of Paradise".
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2025
I should add that Jefferson greatly admired the medieval world before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 ended Anglo-Saxon rule.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2024
The Yunkish Supreme Commander, Yurkhaz zo Yunzak, might have been alive during Aegon’s Conquest, to judge by his appearance.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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The Al-Bass site is centred on a necropolis that dates back three millennia to Tyre's time as a major Phoenician city and was still in use until the Arab conquests of the 7h Century.
From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026
He’s aware that online critics could dispute his conquests, so sometimes he insists on visiting multiple points.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
After 1909, Secretary of State Philander Knox, one of the founders of the United States Steel Corporation, pursued a program of "dollar diplomacy" that promoted American power through overseas investments rather than territorial conquests.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2025
But though these art objects carry the weight of centuries of defeats and conquests, they can’t alone engender a cultural identity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2024
The conquests of Alexander in the late fourth century gave the Greeks firsthand experience of Persia, India, and the Asian kingdoms lying between.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.