1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person
many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work
unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
slaving over a hot stove
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slave
News Desk, Artforum, 18 Sep. 2025
During his first term, Trump established the 1776 Commission in response to The New York Times' 1619 Project, a Pulitzer Prize-winning initiative that argued that America's true founding started when the first slave ship came to the colonies from Africa.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
However, the worse the prison’s conditions become — as the workers are forced to slave away on secret Death Star parts with no promise of release — the more Kino is pushed to join Cassian and his brewing prisoner revolt.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slave
Noun
Also set to be removed from public view is information at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia, where abolitionist John Brown led a raid with the intention of arming slaves for a revolt.
—News Desk, Artforum, 18 Sep. 2025
During his first term, Trump established the 1776 Commission in response to The New York Times' 1619 Project, a Pulitzer Prize-winning initiative that argued that America's true founding started when the first slave ship came to the colonies from Africa.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
Verb
Defined by exhaustion from slaving away at the ironing board while confronting the latest family crisis, Angela is quite capable of whipping up baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise for all and functions as a wise-cracking, big-hearted den mother.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
However, the worse the prison’s conditions become — as the workers are forced to slave away on secret Death Star parts with no promise of release — the more Kino is pushed to join Cassian and his brewing prisoner revolt.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
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In the 1841 census, fourteen people were living in the farmhouse, nine of them children, three servants.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Well done, good and faithful servant.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Christopher Columbus’s son, Diego Colón, Hispaniola’s governor, granted him an encomienda, or consignment of Indian laborers, on the north coast of the island in the Cibao Valley.—
Greg Grandin
September 23,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
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The figure in Nepal is even higher — 20% — which observers say has pushed young people to leave the country in droves to find jobs in neighboring India as well as in other regions such as the Middle East, where they’re often employed as laborers.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These women, many of whom worked in relative obscurity for all their lives, labored to redefine the rights and dignity of all people.—
Time,
Time,
22 Sep. 2025
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Hammond labored 50 hours over a two week span to create her project.—
R. Daniel Foster,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This has created bottlenecks for social workers and police officers who often struggle to find spots for people voluntarily asking to get clean.—
Blake Nelson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Sep. 2025
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It is largely used to bring technology workers from India and other countries stateside to staff major corporations, such as Apple, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Walmart.—
Anna Giaritelli,
The Washington Examiner,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Livonia bread staple West Fenkell Bakery permanently closed its doors on Middlebelt Road near Five Mile, after owners struggled to make ends meet in the midst of renegotiating a contract for its building.—
Natalie Davies,
Freep.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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Atlanta struggled out of the gate, trailing by six after the first quarter, after being outscored 14-0 from the 3-point and free-throw lines combined.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Plus, bail bondsmen are the ultimate local rent seekers.—
Dan Gooding
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Aug. 2025
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Such a bond limits a defendant from relying on a bail bondsman and the use of collateral.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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When Volume One of the forecast was released for 2024, the paint brand strived to frame its collection as objectively as possible.—
Tim Nelson,
Architectural Digest,
24 Sep. 2025
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The true story of Spain’s cricket team striving to qualify for the Olympics, uniting diverse communities through a sport largely unknown in Spain.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Only a racist would dare to defend or dismiss slavery, which stripped Africans of human rights and enslaved them as chattel to pick cotton on Southern plantations.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Aug. 2025
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Laws intended to prevent excessive exploitation went mostly unenforced in the rural northwest, allowing the continuation of what was virtually a chattel system in which workers could be bought, sold, and transported freely.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 26 Sep. 2025.
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