CHATTEL Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

chattel

noun

ˈcha-tᵊl

Definition of chattel

as in slave

a person who is considered the property of another person an amendment to end the keeping of humans as chattel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in possession

chattels plural transportable items that one owns packed up all her chattels and moved to a new state

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 chattel Before meeting Rael-Gálvez, Daria Celeste Landress had learned while researching her family history that three Indigenous ancestors had been listed in historical documents as chattel, alongside furniture, houses, and trees. — Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026 Patriarchal cultures reduce women to economic dependence, treating them as a form of chattel to be traded among families. — Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025 There was no forgetting the notorious Confederate prison camps like Andersonville and Salisbury, the Confederate pogrom at Fort Pillow, and the fact that the South had seceded in the first place to perpetuate and expand an elite-serving economy based on human chattel. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Oct. 2025 Only a racist would dare to defend or dismiss slavery, which stripped Africans of human rights and enslaved them as chattel to pick cotton on Southern plantations. — Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 21 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for chattel

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chattel

Noun

OutKick’s Bobby Burack noted the absurdity of the slave-trade comparison Kaepernick made during an interview with former ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.

— Matt Calkins OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Like horses, people held as slaves were generally treated by property law as things, not persons.

— Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of slave

Noun

The Red Raiders have been stellar on defense, blanking three opponents and allowing just six points entering last week’s 42-35 win over Cary-Grove that wasn’t decided until the final possession.

— Rick Armstrong, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
But Awak Kuier and Bueckers made 3-pointers on Dallas’ next two possessions to pull away.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of possession

Noun

But thankfully, Lisa Hochstein’s lingerie party sets things back on course.

— Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Venus in your daily-life zone connects awkwardly with Uranus in your sign, increasing your appetite for novelty, movement, or a different way of doing things.

— Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of things

Noun

We’re known for being on time, knowing our stuff, not being crazy to work with.

— Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2026
That’s me communicating when stuff isn’t right, and communicating when stuff is right, and making sure that his confidence is still there, just continuing to get better.

— Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026