Subvert vs Slay - What's the difference?
subvert | slay | Related terms |
To overturn from the foundation; to overthrow; to ruin utterly.
* Shakespeare
* John Locke
To pervert, as the mind, and turn it from the truth; to corrupt; to confound.
To upturn convention from the foundation by undermining it (literally, to turn from beneath).
To kill, murder.
(literary) To eradicate or stamp out.
(by extension, colloquial) To defeat, overcome.
* 1956', “Giants '''Slay Bears in Pro Title Battle”, in ''Lodi News-Sentinel , 1956 December 31,
* 1985', “Redskins '''slay Giants; Thiesmann shatters leg”, in ''The Gadsden Times , 1985 November 19,
* 1993 , Jack Curry, “
(slang) To delight or overwhelm, especially with laughter.
Subvert is a related term of slay.
As verbs the difference between subvert and slay
is that subvert is to overturn from the foundation; to overthrow; to ruin utterly while slay is to kill, murder.As a noun subvert
is an advertisement created by subvertising.subvert
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) subverten, from (etyl) subvertir, from (etyl) .Verb
(en verb)- He razeth your cities, and subverts your towns.
- This would subvert the principles of all knowledge.
- A dictator stays in power only as long as he manages to subvert the will of his people.
Derived terms
* subversion * subversiveEtymology 2
, by analogy with advert.Synonyms
* subvertisementslay
English
Verb
- The knight slew the dragon.
- Our foes must all be slain .
- You must slay these thoughts.
page 8.
page D1-5.
Yanks’ Bullpen Falls Short Again”, in The New York Times , 1993 April 21:
- The Yankees were actually slayed by two former Yankees because Rich Gossage pitched one scoreless inning in relief of Eckersley to notch his first victory.
- Ha ha! You slay me!
Usage notes
* The alternative past tense and past participle form "slayed" is most strongly associated with the slang sense, "to delight or overwhelm": *: {{quote-book, i2=*::, 1929, Harry Charles Witwer, Yes Man's Landcitation, passage="Cutey, you slayed me !" grins Jackie, working fast. "I guess that's what made the rest of 'em look so bad — you was so good!"}} * In recent use, "slayed" is also often found associated with the other senses as well. However, this is widely considered nonstandard."But slayed cannot be considered established in such use. Whether it eventually becomes established remains to be seen." — '>citation * A review of US usage 2000-2009 in COCA suggests that "slayed" is increasing in popularity, but remains less common than "slew". It is very rare in UK usage (BNC).
