subservience

noun

Definition of subserviencenext
as in servility

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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 subservience Republican subservience is slowly beginning to wane. — Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 30 Nov. 2025 Japan may need to choose between accepting subservience to China and building up the military capacity necessary for independent deterrence. — Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2026 While counting the president’s fallacies has become routine, the ideological subservience of his senior-most cabinet members and advisors this term has given the public reason to second-guess statements and data issued by them or their offices. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2026 The women had been close friends while studying for their doctorates some years earlier, but Catherine has since grown resentful of Leonora’s career, and dismissive of women whose scholarly ambitions come before marital subservience. — Literary Hub, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for subservience
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subservience
  1. servility
  2. obsequiousness
  3. acquiescence
  4. submissiveness
  5. complaisance
  6. deference
  7. docility
Noun
  • 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
Definition of servility
Noun
  • Groypers are repelled by the obsequiousness of pro-Trump influencers who are always willing to contort themselves to support the President’s latest actions.
    — Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
  • The obsequiousness, the sneers, the boasting, the vacant generalities, and the hand-waving bespeak fear of departing from the Trumpian orthodoxy of the moment.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
Definition of obsequiousness
Noun
  • Less money coming into government coffers also means fewer goodies for the population of Moscow, whose acquiescence Putin desperately needs.
    — Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Atlantic, 30 June 2026
  • But the balance of risks has changed Europe’s era of acquiescence is over.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 22 June 2026
Definition of acquiescence
Noun
  • Attraction is a function of parentage and looks and submissiveness.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 2026
  • But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.
    — Dan Pompei, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2025
Definition of submissiveness
Noun
  • The steadfast pushback against the administration might appear on the surface to be an encouraging trend, given the complaisance of the Republican majorities in Congress and weak-kneed capitulation to Trump by leaders of institutions such as universities and major corporations.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Yet electing to be private doesn’t amount to complaisance or complicity.
    — Lesley M.M. Blume, Town & Country, 6 Dec. 2022
Definition of complaisance
Noun
  • Your Chinese colleague speaks softly in a meeting; is that cultural deference or introversion?
    — Andy Molinsky, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Japan’s players, initially reverential to the point of deference in Zico’s presence, came out of their shells.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 29 June 2026
Definition of deference
Noun
  • Carlson-Wee introduces himself to Wood with the sweet docility of a young boy meeting his hero.
    — Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 17 Mar. 2026
  • The same goes for docility, often characterized as a near neighbor of meekness.
    — Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
Definition of docility

Browse Nearby Words

subsequently
subservience
subserviency
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Cite this Entry

“Subservience.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subservience. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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