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slave 1 of 2

noun

ˈslāv How to pronounce slave (audio)
Definition of slavenext
1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

slave

2 of 2

verb

as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort slaving over a hot stove

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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 slave
Noun
Cora, the granddaughter of a woman kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery, flees her captor’s plantation, plunging her into the book’s alternate steampunk reality where she is pursued by the merciless slave catcher Ridgeway. — David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026 In the 1800s, slaves stood on the southern bank and looked across to freedom. — Hannah Agran, Midwest Living, 12 Sep. 2026
Verb
Defined by exhaustion from slaving away at the ironing board while confronting the latest family crisis, Angela is quite capable of whipping up baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise for all and functions as a wise-cracking, big-hearted den mother. — Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025 However, the worse the prison’s conditions become — as the workers are forced to slave away on secret Death Star parts with no promise of release — the more Kino is pushed to join Cassian and his brewing prisoner revolt. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
  1. servant
  2. laborer
  3. labor
  4. bondman
  5. worker
  6. struggle
  7. chattel
  8. strive
Noun
  • Many became lifelong friends, and role models for me as husbands, fathers, workers and community servants.
    — Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Job lost his animals, servants, and 10 children in a single afternoon.
    — Robert Steinbuch, Arkansas Online, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of servant
Noun
  • Like most aggies, Coover’s self-conception is more small-business owner than laborer.
    — Kyle Paoletta, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Cazares begins most days at sunrise and works construction or as a day laborer throughout the city and suburbs.
    — Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of laborer
Verb
  • McNeely’s portrait of a laboring mother, swathed in glowing fields of chartreuse, outshines (again, literally) art history’s greats.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • In line with the great tech selloff over AI spending fears, Capgemini’s share price has been laboring.
    — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of labor
Noun
  • The judge at the time amended his bond to $3 million cash only, meaning he would only be released by providing the full amount and not having the sum guaranteed by a bondsman.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Megan Showers' bond was set at $20,000, but the judge gave her the ability to pay 10% through a bail bondsman, prosecutors said.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of bondman
Noun
  • About 50,000 doses are intended for front-line and health workers, while 20,000 doses will be used in a clinical trial to study whether the vaccine protects against Bundibugyo virus.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Many became lifelong friends, and role models for me as husbands, fathers, workers and community servants.
    — Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of worker
Verb
  • Last year, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ office struggled with contractor Tyler Technologies to get money from county coffers out to districts.
    — A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • But the Hurricanes struggled in the second half, and Wake Forest nearly got back into the game.
    — Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggle
Noun
  • Men were masters over their women, their chattel, and their emotions.
    — Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
  • The law turned human beings into chattel, allowing them to be worked, beaten, sold, raped and killed — and France never formally did away with it.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 May 2026
Definition of chattel
Verb
  • Such hagiographic descriptors are applied to nearly all of Hagwon’s striving middle-class characters as well as most of its wealthy ones.
    — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • That entails having reachable but firm and clear expectations that both students and teachers can strive towards, not hazy objectives.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of strive

Phrases Containing slave

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slaughters
slave
slaved
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Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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