1
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
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Recent Examples of chattel
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
In many jurisdictions, the appeal of collecting is further enhanced through tax advantage, with sales exempt from capital gains thanks to wine’s classification as a wasting chattel.
—Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for chattel
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
In many jurisdictions, the appeal of collecting is further enhanced through tax advantage, with sales exempt from capital gains thanks to wine’s classification as a wasting chattel.
—Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for chattel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chattel
Noun
-
The circular route that Nour takes, from France to the country of her ancestors, is contrasted with a traditional French wedding filled with the descendants of these very same slaves.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Many slaves, Murray noted, internalized this ideal of American freedom despite their own subjugation.—
Thomas Chatterton Williams,
The Atlantic,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Down by as many as five points in the third quarter, Tennessee had a chance to either cut into the Longhorns' three-point lead or tie the game on the third quarter's final possession.—
Danny Davis,
Austin American Statesman,
15 Feb. 2026
-
The Zags scored 11 of the next 13 points for a 66-62 lead, cranking up their transition game while the Broncos went seven possessions without a field goal.—
Jeff Faraudo,
Mercury News,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In the past few months, however, things have changed.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
17 Feb. 2026
-
There’s something about studying real-life situations that have happened and then creating and imagining into this fictional kind of characterization of things.—
Leigh Nordstrom,
Footwear News,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
That lineup did a great job of preparing, did a great job of laying off stuff in the dirt.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Part of what makes Nightborn both stomach-churning and thought-provoking is how all the crazy stuff happening is just a slightly — okay, substantially — exaggerated version of the reality so many first-time parents face.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chattel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chattel. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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