1. the act of including or placing something within a larger category or class
Usage: formal; academic
2. the process by which a particular case is shown to fall under a general rule or principle
Usage: logic; philosophy

Examples

• The subsumption of local customs under national law created controversy.
• His argument relied on the subsumption of individual cases under general principles.
• The subsumption of smaller companies into the corporation was completed last year.
• Legal scholars debated the subsumption of this case under existing precedent.
• The subsumption of various theories into one unified framework took decades.
• She questioned the subsumption of all romantic poetry under a single movement.