1
: held involuntarily and forced under threat of violence or death to work without pay for the profit of another
… a trove of historical records—birth registries, bills of sale, manumissions, wills and estate inventories—to demonstrate that in the late 1700s and early 1800s, dozens of enslaved people lived in what's now Cedar Grove …—
Shane Paul Neil
Shane Paul NeilMuch of the existing literature is about what enslaved people experienced, but if we attempt to add their engaged understanding, this narrative changes. Enslaved people … had very particular ideas about their value, ideas that differed greatly from their enslavers.—Daina Ramey Berry
Daina Ramey BerrySlavery is not an indefinable mass of flesh. It is a particular, specific enslaved woman, whose mind is active as your own, whose range of feeling is as vast as your own; who prefers the way the light falls in one particular spot in the woods … and knows, inside herself, that she is as intelligent and capable as anyone.—Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates2
: of, relating to, involving, or used for slavery or enslaved people
As demand for cotton grew as a result of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, so too did the demand for enslaved labor in the South and, in turn, the demand for new land to cultivate.—Jamelle Bouie
Jamelle BouieA Gullah interpreter of enslaved life at Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens, she [Gloria Barr Ford] tells stories and sings spirituals outside of the nine brick cabins that used to be slave quarters.—Tracey Teo
Tracey Teo
Phrases
the enslaved
plural in construction
—used collectively for people held in slavery and especially those captured, sold, or born into chattel slavery
King Charles has for the first time signalled his support for research into the monarchy's historical links with transatlantic slavery. But more should be done to listen and respond to the descendants of the enslaved.—Brooke Newman
Brooke NewmanA steady stream of escaped enslaved men and women threatened the defense of chattel slavery, as the formerly enslaved unsettled the ideological foundations of the South with their own lives and testimony.—Jamelle Bouie
Jamelle BouieExamples of enslaved in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebJessica B. Harris, Southern Living, 13 May 2024
Born to a formerly enslaved mother in Guadeloupe, Guillaume Lethière (1760-1832) moved to Paris as a teen with his plantation-owner father and launched his artistic career during the tumultuous years before the French Revolution.
—Amy Crawford, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
In August 1791, some 200 slaves gathered at night in Bois-Caiman in northern Haiti for a Vodou ceremony organized by Dutty Boukman, a renowned enslaved leader and Vodou priest.
—Dánica Coto, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 May 2024
For Jones, minimalism offers a subversive aesthetic strategy, coded like the talking drums of her enslaved ancestors.
—Adam Bradley, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Charleston is a thriving centuries-old port, and its food is grounded in the influences of enslaved people from West Africa and beyond who largely built the city from the ground up, grew its crops, and worked and cooked here.
—Stephanie Burt, Saveur, 8 May 2024
The song is sung from the perspective of an enslaved person who misses their family after being uprooted from their home.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 7 May 2024
The fund would draw 6% of state budget reserves to pay for policies to compensate descendants of enslaved Black people or descendants of a free Black person living in the country before the end of the 19th century.
—Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024
Under French law, enslaved people brought into the country could petition for their freedom.
—Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
Donovan X. Ramsey, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
The park features former dwellings of the enslaved.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
The area — in addition to the mansion itself, the ruins of the overseer’s house, and the quarters of the enslaved — are open to the public.
—Lennie Omalza, The Courier-Journal, 21 Mar. 2024
Reuters could not determine what became of three of the enslaved.
—Reuters, NBC News, 27 June 2023
The committee is a group of descendants of the enslaved who have entered into a groundbreaking partnership with the Montpelier Foundation to share in the administration of the estate.
—Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2023
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard involved two of the country’s oldest public and private universities, both of which were financed to a significant degree with the labor of the enslaved and excluded slavery’s descendants for most of their histories.
—Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Across the nation, multiple landmarks were built by the enslaved.
—Rodney Coates, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2023
Walking along the Lowcountry, Turner interviewed descendants of the enslaved, made careful notes about their dialect and songs, and took photos.
—Joshua Kagavi, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
Adjective
At first, guests of honor of the enslaved people at the center table of this celebratory feast acknowledged the abundance associated with emancipation.
—Jessica B. Harris, Southern Living, 13 May 2024
Born to a formerly enslaved mother in Guadeloupe, Guillaume Lethière (1760-1832) moved to Paris as a teen with his plantation-owner father and launched his artistic career during the tumultuous years before the French Revolution.
—Amy Crawford, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
In August 1791, some 200 slaves gathered at night in Bois-Caiman in northern Haiti for a Vodou ceremony organized by Dutty Boukman, a renowned enslaved leader and Vodou priest.
—Dánica Coto, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 May 2024
For Jones, minimalism offers a subversive aesthetic strategy, coded like the talking drums of her enslaved ancestors.
—Adam Bradley, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Charleston is a thriving centuries-old port, and its food is grounded in the influences of enslaved people from West Africa and beyond who largely built the city from the ground up, grew its crops, and worked and cooked here.
—Stephanie Burt, Saveur, 8 May 2024
The song is sung from the perspective of an enslaved person who misses their family after being uprooted from their home.
—Solcyré Burga, TIME, 7 May 2024
The fund would draw 6% of state budget reserves to pay for policies to compensate descendants of enslaved Black people or descendants of a free Black person living in the country before the end of the 19th century.
—Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 19 Apr. 2024
Under French law, enslaved people brought into the country could petition for their freedom.
—Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
Noun
Another route is via a shuttle that crosses railroad tracks laid by the enslaved, and which also served as delivery networks for human cargo.
—Donovan X. Ramsey, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2024
The park features former dwellings of the enslaved.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
The area — in addition to the mansion itself, the ruins of the overseer’s house, and the quarters of the enslaved — are open to the public.
—Lennie Omalza, The Courier-Journal, 21 Mar. 2024
Reuters could not determine what became of three of the enslaved.
—Reuters, NBC News, 27 June 2023
The committee is a group of descendants of the enslaved who have entered into a groundbreaking partnership with the Montpelier Foundation to share in the administration of the estate.
—Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2023
Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard involved two of the country’s oldest public and private universities, both of which were financed to a significant degree with the labor of the enslaved and excluded slavery’s descendants for most of their histories.
—Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Across the nation, multiple landmarks were built by the enslaved.
—Rodney Coates, The Conversation, 14 Aug. 2023
Walking along the Lowcountry, Turner interviewed descendants of the enslaved, made careful notes about their dialect and songs, and took photos.
—Joshua Kagavi, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'enslaved.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near enslaved
Cite this Entry
“Enslaved.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enslaved. Accessed 18 May. 2024.
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