menial

noun me·nial \ ˈmē-nē-əl , -nyəl \

|Updated on: 19 Jul 2018

Examples: menial in a Sentence

Definition of menial

: a person doing menial work; specifically : a domestic (see ¹domestic 4) servant or retainer (see ¹retainer 1a)

See menial defined for English-language learners

Examples of menial in a Sentence

immigrants to that country faced fierce prejudice and could expect to find work only as menials

Origin and Etymology of menial

see ²menial

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

menial Synonyms

menial

adjective

Definition of menial

1 : of or relating to servants : lowly

a menial worker

2 a : appropriate to a servant : humble, servile

answered in menial tones

menial household chores

b : lacking interest or dignity

a menial task

—

menially

adverb

See menial defined for English-language learners

See menial defined for kids

Examples of menial in a Sentence

every command was obeyed in the menial manner of someone who seemed grateful just to be in the presence of a celebrity

Recent Examples of menial from the Web

You either got married and had children or did menial jobs and starved.

— lorraine ali, latimes.com, "Sunday Conversation: Lesley Manville discusses her wide-ranging career and new appreciation for TV," 5 July 2018
While in America Tsang’s mother had to work at menial jobs to support the family.

— peter keough, BostonGlobe.com, "An immigrant story, atrocity tourism, the future of Barbie," 28 June 2018
The Forth Valley Royal Hospital, run by Serco, was the first in Britain to use automated guided vehicles to move laundry and waste around in the basement, saving about 40 menial jobs.

— The Economist, "Britain’s outsourcing model, copied around the world, is in trouble," 28 June 2018
According to court documents obtained by Fox News, Richard Hanson alleged that the country singer and her husband, John McBride, hired unpaid interns to do menial tasks like cleaning their bathrooms and shopping for their groceries.

— sasha savitsky, Fox News, "Lawsuit: Martina McBride made interns clean bathrooms," 12 June 2018
The town’s tire factory was at one point forced to hire black workers but allowed them to work only the most menial jobs.

— kate siber, Outside Online, "How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman," 8 June 2018
But when my phone suddenly froze last week and stopped working, gone was the ability to perform even such menial tasks with ease.

— rob manker, Naperville Sun, "Manker: It's cold sweat time when your smartphone is suddenly gone," 7 June 2018
Lest anyone forget, the more menial tasks people outsource to Google, the more the company knows about their habits.

— david pierson, latimes.com, "Should people know they're talking to an algorithm? After a controversial debut, Google now says yes," 10 May 2018
The racial divide between those serving customers and employees in more menial jobs such as cleaning and washing dishes is very distinct, reflecting the dynamics of New York restaurants in 2006.

— alejandra reyes-velarde, latimes.com, "Starz's 'Sweetbitter' is an introduction to life's flavors," 25 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'menial.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of menial

Middle English meynial, from Anglo-French meignal, from mesnee, mayné household, retinue, from Vulgar Latin *mansionata, from Latin mansion-, mansio dwelling — more at mansion

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year