CHATTEL Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

chattel

noun

ˈcha-tᵊl

Definition of chattel

as in slave

a person who is considered the property of another person an amendment to end the keeping of humans as chattel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in possession

chattels plural transportable items that one owns packed up all her chattels and moved to a new state

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of chattel Before meeting Rael-Gálvez, Daria Celeste Landress had learned while researching her family history that three Indigenous ancestors had been listed in historical documents as chattel, alongside furniture, houses, and trees. — Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026 Patriarchal cultures reduce women to economic dependence, treating them as a form of chattel to be traded among families. — Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025 There was no forgetting the notorious Confederate prison camps like Andersonville and Salisbury, the Confederate pogrom at Fort Pillow, and the fact that the South had seceded in the first place to perpetuate and expand an elite-serving economy based on human chattel. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Oct. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for chattel

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chattel

Noun

The movie follows Lucius’ return to Rome as a slave, forced to compete in gladiator fights as his father Maximus (Crowe’s character from the original movie) did before him.

— Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
New York Life Insurance Company, Aetna Life Insurance Company and American International Group, known as AIG, were some of the businesses that listed previously disclosed ties to slaves and slaveholders.

— Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of slave

Noun

Western Michigan won the rushing battle and dominated time of possession, controlling the ball for more than 40 minutes.

— Austin Meek, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Mensah capped that drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Toney and the two connected on a 2-yard score on the next possession with Toney punctuating both TDs with a Heisman pose for the Hurricanes fans in that corner of the stadium.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of possession

Noun

Erin then complains about her daughter and drones on about all sorts of things that no one can even pretend to care about.

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Sep. 2026
These were pretty innocuous in the grand scheme of things, but were hanging as a PR headache for Ferrari heading to its home race.

— Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026