slavish

adjective

slav·​ish ˈslā-vish 

 sometimes  ˈsla-

1

a

: of or characteristic of someone held in forced servitude

especially : basely or abjectly servile

b

archaic : despicable, low

I have done with slavish fear of disaster.

—Charlotte Brontë

… in a sense it is infinitely reasonable …. But there is such a thing as a mean infinity, a base and slavish eternity.

—G. K. Chesterton

2

archaic : oppressive, tyrannical

No minion of despotism ever ventured to advance more slavish doctrines …

—George McDuffie

3

disapproving : copying obsequiously or without originality : imitative

slavishly adverb

slavishness noun

Synonyms

• apish
• canned
• emulative
• epigonic
• epigonous
• formulaic
• imitative
• mimetic
• mimic
• unoriginal

Examples of slavish in a Sentence

a politician and his slavish followers

He has been criticized for his slavish devotion to the rules.

Recent Examples on the Web

Nonetheless, the film’s tension is almost immediately diffused by a slavish devotion to the facts. —Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2025

Yet in Kim’s slavish dedication to the Jeju haenyeo’s testimony, many questions that arise in this setting are left unexplored. —Geoffrey Bunting, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2024

By the beginning of 1956, some American communists openly blamed the poor state of their party on Moscow’s ideological inflexibility—and their own leaders’ slavish obedience to Soviet officials. —Jeremy Friedman, Foreign Affairs, 17 July 2024

But the final opening skates through Joan dunking her face in an ice bath, arriving at the studio, and then returning home to the slavish Carol Ann. —Elaina Patton, IndieWire, 29 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for slavish

• knavish

Kids Definition

slavish

adjective

slav·​ish ˈslā-vish 

1

: of or characteristic of someone held in forced servitude

2

: lacking in independence or originality

slavish imitators

slavishly adverb

slavishness noun