Topic vs. Subject — What's the Difference?

A specific matter under discussion.

A field of knowledge studied or taught.

A subject of conversation or discussion.

A person or thing that undergoes study or analysis.

The subject or theme of a discourse or artistic composition.

The main topic dealt with in a book or work.

A particular issue or concept.

To cause to undergo; as, to subject a substance to a white heat; to subject a person to a rigid test.

Some situation or event that is thought about;

The person who is treated of; the hero of a piece; the chief character.

Topical.

Cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to;

The subject matter of a conversation or discussion;

A thinking or feeling entity; the conscious mind; the ego, especially as opposed to anything external to the mind.

A branch of study related to a larger field.

Likely or prone to be affected by (a particular condition or occurrence, typically an unwelcome or unpleasant one)

The subject of a speech, essay, thesis, or discourse.

Dependent or conditional upon

A subject of discussion or conversation.

One concerning which something is said or done; a person or thing being discussed or dealt with

A subdivision of a theme, thesis, or outline.

A corpse intended for anatomical study and dissection.

(Linguistics) A word or phrase in a sentence, usually providing information from previous discourse or shared knowledge, that the rest of the sentence elaborates or comments on. Also called theme.

(Grammar) The noun, noun phrase, or pronoun in a sentence or clause that denotes the doer of the action or what is described by the predicate.

Topical

The mind or thinking part as distinguished from the object of thought.

Subject; theme; a category or general area of interest.

The essential nature or substance of something as distinguished from its attributes.

(Internet) Discussion thread.

(logic) That of which something is stated.

(music) A musical sign intended to suggest a particular style or genre.

To cause (someone or something) to undergo a particular experience, especially one that is unpleasant or unwanted.

(obsolete) An argument or reason.

(transitive) To make subordinate or subservient; to subdue or enslave.

An external local application or remedy, such as a plaster, a blister, etc.

Placed under the power of another; specifically (International Law), owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state; as, Jamaica is subject to Great Britain.

One of the various general forms of argument employed in probable as distinguished from demonstrative reasoning, - denominated by Aristotle to`poi (literally, places), as being the places or sources from which arguments may be derived, or to which they may be referred; also, a prepared form of argument, applicable to a great variety of cases, with a supply of which the ancient rhetoricians and orators provided themselves; a commonplace of argument or oratory.

That which is subjected, or submitted to, any physical operation or process; specifically (Anat.), a dead body used for the purpose of dissection.

An argument or reason.

To bring under control, power, or dominion; to make subject; to subordinate; to subdue.

The subject of any distinct portion of a discourse, or argument, or literary composition; also, the general or main subject of the whole; a matter treated of; a subject, as of conversation or of thought; a matter; a point; a head.

To expose; to make obnoxious or liable; as, credulity subjects a person to impositions.

An external local application or remedy, as a plaster, a blister, etc.

To submit; to make accountable.

To make subservient.

Something (a person or object or scene) selected by an artist or photographer for graphic representation;

A person who owes allegiance to that nation;

A person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with

A branch of knowledge studied or taught in a school, college, or university

A member of a state other than its ruler, especially one owing allegiance to a monarch or other supreme ruler

A noun or noun phrase functioning as one of the main components of a clause, being the element about which the rest of the clause is predicated.

Under the authority of

Conditionally upon

Cause or force someone or something to undergo (a particular experience or form of treatment, typically an unwelcome or unpleasant one)

Prone; disposed

Likely to incur or receive; exposed

Contingent or dependent

One who is under the rule of another or others, especially one who owes allegiance to a government or ruler.

Something that is treated or indicated in a work of art.

(Music) A theme of a composition, especially a fugue.

A course or area of study

A basis for action; a cause.

One that experiences or is subjected to something

A person or animal that is the object of medical or scientific study

One who is under surveillance

(Logic) The term of a proposition about which something is affirmed or denied.

A being that undergoes personal conscious or unconscious experience of itself and of the world.

To cause to experience, undergo, or be acted upon

To subjugate; subdue.

To submit to the authority of

Likely to be affected by or to experience something.

Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.

Placed under the power of another; owing allegiance to a particular sovereign or state.

(grammar) In a clause: the word or word group (usually a noun phrase) about whom the statement is made. In active clauses with verbs denoting an action, the subject and the actor are usually the same.

An actor; one who takes action.

The main topic of a paper, work of art, discussion, field of study, etc.

A particular area of study.

A citizen in a monarchy.

A person ruled over by another, especially a monarch or state authority.

(music) The main theme or melody, especially in a fugue.

A human, animal or an inanimate object that is being examined, treated, analysed, etc.

(philosophy) A being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness, or a relationship with another entity.

(math) The variable in terms of which an expression is defined.

Placed or situated under; lying below, or in a lower situation.

Exposed; liable; prone; disposed; as, a country subject to extreme heat; men subject to temptation.

Obedient; submissive.

That which is placed under the authority, dominion, control, or influence of something else.

Specifically: One who is under the authority of a ruler and is governed by his laws; one who owes allegiance to a sovereign or a sovereign state; as, a subject of Queen Victoria; a British subject; a subject of the United States.

That which is brought under thought or examination; that which is taken up for discussion, or concerning which anything is said or done.

That of which anything is affirmed or predicated; the theme of a proposition or discourse; that which is spoken of; as, the nominative case is the subject of the verb.

That in which any quality, attribute, or relation, whether spiritual or material, inheres, or to which any of these appertain; substance; substratum.

The principal theme, or leading thought or phrase, on which a composition or a movement is based.

The incident, scene, figure, group, etc., which it is the aim of the artist to represent.

The subject matter of a conversation or discussion;

Some situation or event that is thought about;

A branch of knowledge;

A person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation;

(grammar) one of the two main constituents of a sentence; the grammatical constituent about which something is predicated

(logic) the first term of a proposition

Make accountable for;

Make subservient; force to submit or subdue

Refer for judgment or consideration;

Not exempt from tax;

Possibly accepting or permitting;

Being under the power or sovereignty of another or others;

Bring (a person or country) under one's control or jurisdiction, typically by using force

Being in a position or in circumstances that place one under the power or authority of another or others

Conditional upon something; used with to.

In grammar, the entity performing the action in a sentence.

The main focus or center of attention.

Typically, yes. A topic is usually a specific area within a broader subject.

In grammar, a subject is the noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that performs the action of the verb in a sentence.

A topic is a specific matter under discussion, while a subject is a broader field or area it belongs to.

No, the exact nuances and applications of these terms can vary between languages.

Yes, a sentence or discussion can touch on multiple topics within a given subject or even across subjects.

It should be relevant, engaging, and appropriate for the audience, and it should ideally fall within the presenter's expertise or area of interest.

Yes, in some contexts, the terms can be used interchangeably, but a topic is generally narrower.

Yes, while the subject is what the literature is about (e.g., war), the theme is the underlying message or lesson (e.g., the futility of conflict).

Generally, the subject is the main topic or theme of the book, but it can have various topics discussed within.

Yes, a subject like science can encompass multiple fields like biology, chemistry, and physics, each with its own topics.