Subdued cute debs wrongly without justice (9)

I believe the answer is:

subjected

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'subdued' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to competing as well as being past participle verbs.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'cute debs wrongly without justice' is the wordplay.
'wrongly' indicates an anagram.
'without' indicates putting letters inside ('without' can be similar in meaning to 'outside').
'justice' becomes 'j'.
'cute'+'debs'='cutedebs'
'cutedebs' is an anagram of 'subected'.
'subected' placed around 'j' is 'SUBJECTED'.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.