enslaver
noun
en·slav·er
in-ˈslā-vər 
en-
plural enslavers
1
: someone or something that forces one or more people into or as if into slavery
The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes …—
Frederick Douglass
Frederick DouglassThe opera's libretto depicts Columbus as hungry for gold and an enslaver of the Tainos …—Bill Kaufman
Bill Kaufman… writings and textbooks and pamphlets—some 100 years old—calling tobacco foul, poisonous, an enslaver of the mind and soul.—Matthew Ebner
Matthew Ebner2
: slaveholder
Six years after she was enslaved on Spanish Point, Prince's enslaver sold her again to another slaveholder …—Christopher Michael Blakley
Christopher Michael Blakley… the Fugitive Slave Act was a source of contention for communities in the North that were torn about whether to comply with returning former slaves to their enslavers.—Bethany Bump
Bethany BumpExamples of enslaver in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Many unfortunate events were blamed on poison—the unexpected death of an enslaver or a slave, a spate of local deaths due to a virus or other disease, or problems on the plantation such as ill livestock or bad harvests.
—Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
Many had been enslavers before moving to the Ohio Territory, where slavery was outlawed.
—Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
After discovering enslavers in his lineage, a filmmaker confronts a complicated legacy and meets the descendants of those his ancestors held captive.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
From the ages of 12 to about 22, Harriet Jacobs lived under the watch of her enslaver, a wealthy physician named James Norcom Sr.
—Mollie Barnes, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
All the while, enslavers insisted that abolitionists’ agitation on slavery was to blame for the growing national strife.
—Time, 5 Sep. 2025
Enslaved people could be whipped, branded, mutilated, or killed without legal consequence to their enslavers.
—Marybeth Gasman, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
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Literary Hub, 5 Jan. 2026
Many had been enslavers before moving to the Ohio Territory, where slavery was outlawed.
—Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
After discovering enslavers in his lineage, a filmmaker confronts a complicated legacy and meets the descendants of those his ancestors held captive.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2025
From the ages of 12 to about 22, Harriet Jacobs lived under the watch of her enslaver, a wealthy physician named James Norcom Sr.
—Mollie Barnes, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
All the while, enslavers insisted that abolitionists’ agitation on slavery was to blame for the growing national strife.
—Time, 5 Sep. 2025
Enslaved people could be whipped, branded, mutilated, or killed without legal consequence to their enslavers.
—Marybeth Gasman, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enslaver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enslaver. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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