subservient

adjective

sub·​ser·​vi·​ent səb-ˈsər-vē-ənt How to pronounce subservient (audio)
1
: useful in an inferior capacity : subordinate
2
: serving to promote some end
3
: obsequiously submissive : truckling
subserviently adverb

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How Should You Use subservient?

Since sub- means "below", it emphasizes the lower position of the person in the subservient one. Soldiers of a given rank are always subservient to those of a higher rank; this subservience is symbolized by the requirement that they salute their superior at every opportunity. Women have often been forced into subservient relationships with men. A small nation may feel subservient to its more powerful neighbor, obliged to obey even when it doesn't want to. So subservience usually brings with it a good dose of resentment.

Examples of subservient in a Sentence

Sally Boysen, a psychologist at Ohio State University, probed the degree to which a chimp's ability to reason is subservient to the animal's desires. Eugene Linden, Time, 6 Sept. 1999
That's why many believe that I have the right to preach but not to pastor. For a woman to be a pastor would mean that men would have to submit and be subservient to a woman. Chryll Crews, Ms., January/February 1998
As for a "European Europe," allied with but not subservient to the United States, providing for its own defense and diplomacy and practicing detente with Moscow, de Gaulle did not achieve it in his lifetime, but there was at least a beginning. Stanley Hoffmann, New York Times Book Review, 20 Mar. 1983
She refused to take a subservient role in their marriage.
Recent Examples on the Web The environment is made subservient to the polemic. Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 That means staying devoted to housework and taking care of the children — and being subservient to their working husbands. Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024 The larger mysteries of the show are subservient to the arc of the central relationship. Ben Rosenstock, TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 And Japan’s robots tend to follow the subservient female gender stereotype. Mark Paterson, The Conversation, 26 Jan. 2024 Will he be subservient to former President Donald Trump? Ana Ceballos, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2024 There’s one that dominates and one that has to be subservient. Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Dec. 2023 That is true of the smaller countries surrounding China but also of the many countries that have long been subservient to the United States. Fareed Zakaria, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023 Because of OpenAI’s structure, which holds the firm’s for-profit elements subservient to a nonprofit board, the firm does not hold money-making as its core objective. Brian Contreras, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subservient.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin subservient-, subserviens, present participle of subservire — see subserve

First Known Use

circa 1626, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of subservient was circa 1626

Dictionary Entries Near subservient

Cite this Entry

“Subservient.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subservient. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

subservient

adjective
sub·​ser·​vi·​ent səb-ˈsər-vē-ənt How to pronounce subservient (audio)
1
: useful in an inferior capacity : subordinate
2
: inclined or willing to submit to others : submissive
subserviently adverb
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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