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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
slaving over a hot stove
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slave
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
Items from the Dorothy Porter Wesley rare book collection of slave narratives and abolitionist tracks will also be included.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
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
Noun
Arriving in America, Ann and her followers are outraged by their first sight of a slave auction.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
Items from the Dorothy Porter Wesley rare book collection of slave narratives and abolitionist tracks will also be included.
—Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
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
Noun
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He was inspired by an early scene from the TV show, when the estate’s staff hosted a servant’s ball at Christmastime.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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Since 2010, fans have followed the family of the Earl of Grantham, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), and their servants through six television seasons and three films.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The three of them crammed into a single room in a small blue house full of Spanish-speaking laborers.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
13 Sep. 2025
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Its origins trace back to the 19th century, when the mondine sang it—female laborers in Northern Italy's rice paddies—protesting brutal working conditions and lost youth.—
Amanda Castro
Joshua Rhett Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
At Villa Park, his frailty was epic, defiant, even as his bandmates labored drastically to summon the power of 50 years earlier.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
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While such a scenario sounds potentially maudlin and manipulative, Lucero — who wrote the film from a personal place — never allows that to happen by making the characters complex and flawed, and laboring under real-life issues.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Rural farmers could receive payments, urban workers could send money home and millions joined the formal economy for the first time.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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It’s gotten so bad that, in one of the largest H-2A criminal cases ever, a federal judge described the abuse of these workers as a form of modern-day slavery.—
Max Blau,
ProPublica,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Traditional data lakes can store raw data at scale but lack quality controls, while warehouses enforce structure but struggle with unstructured or fast changing data.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Almost half of those who abided by boundaries (45%) reported low burnout, compared to 6% of those who struggled to do so.—
Samantha Dewalt,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Plus, bail bondsmen are the ultimate local rent seekers.—
Dan Gooding
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Aug. 2025
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Such a bond limits a defendant from relying on a bail bondsman and the use of collateral.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Chronic striving has its downsides, though.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
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When multiple businesses strive to outdo each other, the result is better products, improved services and more choices for consumers.—
Levi King,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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Laws intended to prevent excessive exploitation went mostly unenforced in the rural northwest, allowing the continuation of what was virtually a chattel system in which workers could be bought, sold, and transported freely.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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