<B>subsume, </B>transitive verb, <B>-sumed,</B> <B>-suming.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to bring (an idea, term, principle, proposition, or the like) under another; bring (a case or instance) under a rule. <DD><B> 2. </B>to take up into, or include in, a larger or higher class or the like. </DL>
<A NAME="subsumption">
<B>subsumption, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1a. </B>the act or process of subsuming. <DD><B> b. </B>the state of being subsumed. <DD><B> 2a. </B>(Logic.) a proposition subsumed under another; minor premise. <DD><B> b. </B>an assumption. </DL>
<A NAME="subsumptive">
<B>subsumptive, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or involving subsumption. </DL>
<A NAME="subsurface">
<B>subsurface, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> under the surface; underlying; underground. <BR> <I>Ex. subsurface nuclear tests, subsurface rock, water, or oil.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> the space or matter immediately below the surface. </DL>
<A NAME="subsystem">
<B>subsystem, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a part or subdivision of a system. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Aerospace.) a component system within a major system of a missile or rocket. <BR> <I>Ex. Flight tests demonstrate the compatibility of airframe, engine, and autopilot subsystems (Air Force Report on the Ballistic Missile).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtangent">
<B>subtangent, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geometry.) the part of the axis of a curve cut off between the tangent and the ordinate of a given point in the curve. </DL>
<A NAME="subteen">
<B>subteen, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) <DD><I>noun </I> <B>=subteen-ager.</B> <DD><I>adj. </I> of or for subteen-agers. <BR> <I>Ex. a subteen dance or party.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subteenager">
<B>subteen-ager, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) a boy or girl nearly thirteen years old. </DL>
<A NAME="subtemperate">
<B>subtemperate, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of, having to do with, or found in the colder regions of the Temperate Zone. </DL>
<A NAME="subtenancy">
<B>subtenancy, </B>noun, pl. <B>-cies.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> the status, right, or holding of a subtenant. </DL>
<A NAME="subtenant">
<B>subtenant, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a tenant of a tenant; person who rents land, a house, or other building, or a right, from a tenant. </DL>
<A NAME="subtend">
<B>subtend, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to extend under; stretch across; be opposite to. <BR> <I>Ex. The chord of an arc subtends the arc.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Botany.) to enclose in the angle between a leaf or bract and its stem. </DL>
<A NAME="subtense">
<B>subtense, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Geometry.) the chord of an arc or any other subtending line. </DL>
<A NAME="subter">
<B>subter-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (prefix.) underneath; beneath; below; less than, as in <BR> <I>Ex. subterconscious, subterposition.</I> </DL>
<B>subterfuge, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a trick, excuse, or expedient used to escape something unpleasant. <BR> <I>Ex. The girl's headache was only a subterfuge to avoid going to school.</I> (SYN) artifice, ruse. </DL>
<A NAME="subternatural">
<B>subternatural, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> below what is natural; less than natural. </DL>
<A NAME="subterposition">
<B>subterposition, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the state of being placed or of lying underneath something else; position underneath. </DL>
<A NAME="subterrane">
<B>subterrane, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>(Geology.) the bedrock under a deposit. <DD><B> 2. </B>an underground cave, chamber, or dwelling. </DL>
<A NAME="subterranean">
<B>subterranean, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>beneath the earth's surface; underground. <BR> <I>Ex. A subterranean passage led from the castle to the cave. Mammoth Cave, the biggest of the subterranean caverns in the limestone deposits of central Kentucky (Newsweek).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) carried on secretly; hidden. <BR> <I>Ex. subterranean plotting.</I> (SYN) clandestine, surreptitious. <DD><I>noun </I> a person who lives or works underground. <BR> <I>Ex. The strange, sad subterraneans who lived and died in the city beneath the sea (Punch).</I> adv. <B>subterraneanly.</B> </DL>
<B>subtest, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a test that is part of a series of tests. <BR> <I>Ex. In the reasoning subtest a typical item consists of drawings of five abstractions (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtext">
<B>subtext, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the underlying meaning of a literary or dramatic text. <BR> <I>Ex. "The Lodger" demonstrates a beautiful sense of subtext--of the gap between what people say and what is on their minds--whichis rather an astonishing achievement in a silent picture (Penelope Gilliatt).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtheme">
<B>subtheme, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a subordinate or secondary theme; subtopic. <BR> <I>Ex. "Man and His World" has been divided into ten subthemes, such as "Man and Work," "Man the Visionary," and "Man and the Infinite" (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subthreshold">
<B>subthreshold, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> below the point where a given stimulus is perceptible or two stimuli can be differentiated. <BR> <I>Ex. The Subliminal Projection process is a method of conveying an advertising message to the subthreshold area of the human mind (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtile">
<B>subtile, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>not dense or heavy; thin; delicate; rare. <BR> <I>Ex. a subtile liquid, a subtile fabric, a subtile powder. (Figurative.) after living ... within the subtile influence of an intellect like Emerson's (Hawthorne).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Archaic.) subtle. <BR> <I>Ex. And with such subtile toils enveloped him (Robert Southey).</I> adv. <B>subtilely.</B> noun <B>subtileness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="subtilisin">
<B>subtilisin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a proteolytic enzyme produced by a common species of soil bacteria, used in tanning and experimentally in chemical synthesis. </DL>
<A NAME="subtility">
<B>subtility, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) subtlety. </DL>
<A NAME="subtilize">
<B>subtilize, </B>verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> to make subtle; introduce subtleties into. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to make subtle distinctions; argue or reason in a subtle manner; split hairs. <BR> <I>Ex. Men ... who subtilize upon the commonest duties until they no longer appear binding (Oliver Goldsmith).</I> noun <B>subtilization.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="subtilty">
<B>subtilty, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B> <B>=subtlety.</B></DL>
<A NAME="subtitle">
<B>subtitle, </B>noun, verb, <B>-tled,</B> <B>-tling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>an additional or subordinate title of a book or article. <DD><B> 2a. </B>a repetition of the chief words of the full title of a book at the top of the first page of text. <DD><B> b. </B><B>=half title.</B> <DD><B> 3. </B>a word or words shown on a motion-picture or television screen, especially as the translation of the words spoken in a foreign-language film; caption. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to give a subtitle or subtitles to. <BR> <I>Ex. This delightful, cheerful collection might easily be subtitled grim fairy tales for adults (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtle">
<B>subtle, </B>adjective, <B>-tler,</B> <B>-tlest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>very fine; thin; delicate. <BR> <I>Ex. Some subtle odors are hard to recognize.</I> (SYN) tenuous, rare. <DD><B> 2. </B>so fine or delicate as to elude observation or analysis. <BR> <I>Ex. subtle distinctions. Subtle jokes are often hard to understand.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>faint; mysterious. <BR> <I>Ex. a subtle smile or wink.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>having a keen, quick mind; discerning; acute. <BR> <I>Ex. She is a subtle observer of slight differences in things.</I> (SYN) discriminating. <DD><B> 5. </B>sly; crafty; tricky. <BR> <I>Ex. a subtle scheme to get some money.</I> (SYN) artful, cunning, wily. <DD><B> 6. </B>skillful; clever; expert. <BR> <I>Ex. a subtle worker in gold and silver, a subtle design.</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>working unnoticeably or secretly; insidious. <BR> <I>Ex. a subtle poison or drug.</I> noun <B>subtleness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="subtlety">
<B>subtlety, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ties.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>subtle quality. <BR> <I>Ex. Guides cannot master the subtleties of the American joke (Mark Twain). His style is artfully simple and flowing, his portraiture full of subtlety and charm (Atlantic).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>something subtle; cunning; craft. <BR> <I>Ex. The laws were violated by power, or perverted by subtlety (Edward Gibbon).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtly">
<B>subtly, </B>adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> in a subtle manner; with subtlety. </DL>
<A NAME="subtonic">
<B>subtonic, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Music.) the seventh tone of a scale; tone next below the upper tonic; leading tone. </DL>
<A NAME="subtopia">
<B>subtopia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) countryside that has developed into an industrial urban area. <BR> <I>Ex. Harrow-on-the-Hill is ... a linear ridge-top town above green fields on either side, a simultaneous oasis of both town and country in a sea of subtopia (Observer).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtopian">
<B>subtopian, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) of or characteristic of a subtopia. <BR> <I>Ex. ... subtopian wastes of semidetached houses and bungaloid growths left by the industrialists of the nineteenth century, and the 'spec' builders of the twentieth (Manchester Guardian).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="subtopianize">
<B>subtopianize, </B>transitive verb, <B>-ized,</B> <B>-izing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) to change into a subtopia. </DL>
<A NAME="subtopic">
<B>subtopic, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a subordinate or secondary topic, included under a major topic. </DL>
