servility

noun

Definition of servilitynext
as in slavery
the state of being an enslaved person the joy that emancipation must have brought to people who had known only servility since birth

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of servility Though the national independence be blurred by the servility of individuals, though freedom and equality have been proclaimed only to leave room for a monstrous display of slave-dealing and slave-keeping . — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for servility
  1. slavery
  2. servitude
Noun
  • Instagram direct messages to a University of Miami football player that included rape imagery, violent slavery imagery, three uses of the N-word and two uses of a homophobic slur are under investigation by the Florida Bar.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Lincoln lost that year, but the country benefited from their arguments over the legality and morality of slavery.
    — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of slavery
Noun
  • But there's a certain kind of person who wants a person's back broken, bent over, in servitude.
    — Kate Berlant, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • For Beccaria, an execution’s fleeting spectacle deterred less effectively than lifelong penal servitude.
    — Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of servitude

Browse Nearby Words

servilities
servility
serving
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Cite this Entry

“Servility.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/servility. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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