MEANING
To include a narrower case or category within a broader one.
Use it for
conceptual hierarchies; scope of theories; classification disputesShow the relationship between a general category and a specific case.
Words that belong together
- subsume under a heading
- subsume separate categories
- subsume a case within a rule
On the page
The framework subsumes unpaid caregiving under productive labor.
We should not subsume every kind of disagreement under misinformation.
Several local practices can be subsumed within the broader category of mutual aid.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- subsume / subsumes
- Past tense
- subsumed
- Past participle
- subsumed
- Present participle
- subsuming
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- subsume / subsumes
- Present continuous
- am/is/are subsuming
- Present perfect
- have/has subsumed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been subsuming
- Past
- subsumed
- Past continuous
- was/were subsuming
- Past perfect
- had subsumed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been subsuming
- Future
- will subsume / subsumes
- Future continuous
- will be subsuming
- Future perfect
- will have subsumed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been subsuming
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: academic. Formal and often academic; subsume X under Y. Do not confuse with consume or assume. Inclusion need not erase the narrower category's differences. Verb inflections [base, third-person singular, past, past participle, -ing]: subsume, subsumes, subsumed, subsumed, subsuming. Derived family (not inflections): subsumption.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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