thrall

\ ˈthrȯl

How to pronounce thrall (audio)

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Definition of thrall

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a state of servitude or submission —usually used with inin thrall to his emotions

b : a state of complete absorption —usually used with in… mountains could hold me in thrall with a subtle attraction of their own …— Elyne Mitchell

2a : a servant slave : bondman also : serf

b : a person in moral or mental servitude

thrall

thralled; thralling; thralls

Definition of thrall (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

archaic

: enthrall, enslave

Other Words from thrall Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about thrall

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Examples of thrall in a Sentence

Noun I'm not your thrall, so you'll have to pick up after yourself. a people who still bear the scars of having been in thrall for so many years

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Statewide policies on wearing masks seem to be similarly, and catastrophically, in thrall to public polling. — Roxanne Khamsi, Wired, "America Has a Sick Obsession with Covid-19 Polls," 8 July 2020 The brains behind the operation, Maren pities Devin but is in thrall to her own problems, drinking wine by the case and easing her raging insecurity by working all day. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "A Satire That Demolishes the Influencer Industry," 1 July 2020 There’s less ambiguity there, after all: Stanley is an unambiguous villain from minute one, a preening, flirty buffoon who constantly undermines Shirley’s artistic talent, and Fred is quickly in his thrall. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "An Unconventional Biopic About a Horror Master," 8 June 2020 Biden these days is not a candidate who is in the thrall of handlers. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "Joe Biden wants to be a normal president in a highly abnormal age.," 6 Jan. 2020 Yet, despite the irony of its titular cliché, High Off Life finds Future still in the thrall of Adderall, codeine, and promethazine. — Gary Suarez, EW.com, "Future stays in his narcotized comfort zone on High Off Life," 19 May 2020 Today, Scotland is in thrall to a new religion, the Church of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, which is just as menacing and humorless, and to which the Scottish government kowtows just as readily. — Madeleine Kearns, National Review, "Scotland Swaps One Blasphemy Law for Another," 29 Apr. 2020 And the base needs red meat, according to Trump loyalists who fear that the president is in thrall to his scientific advisers, who are advocating a go-slow approach to reopening the economy. — Rob Crilly, Washington Examiner, "Trump criticism of WHO and China stokes America First base," 16 Apr. 2020 Wiener is our guide to a realm whose denizens have been as in thrall to a dizzying sense of momentum as consumers have been. — Ismail Muhammad, The Atlantic, "Inside Tech’s Fever Dream," 8 Feb. 2020

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

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Dictionary Entries near thrall

Thraco-Illyrian

Thraco-Phrygian

Statistics for thrall

Last Updated

21 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Thrall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrall. Accessed 11 Aug. 2020.

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