as in slavery
the state of being an enslaved person
having known the misery of enslavement first hand, Frederick Douglass went on devote his life to the cause of making others free
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Recent Examples of enslavement
To us, Nottoway’s transformation in the 1980s – from a brutal site of enslavement to a luxury resort and wedding venue – represented the Southern plantation tourist industry’s tendency to whitewash our past.
—
Essence, 29 Oct. 2025
For the Spanish, in one sense, the justification for the enslavement of Africans was complex and varied.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The National Museum of the American Indian recalls how Indigenous peoples suffered theft, loss of their homelands, enslavement, death, forced displacement and disrupted cultural traditions due to European settlement.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Nearby, the Legacy Museum takes visitors through the journey from enslavement to mass incarceration.
—Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Since 2017, Rosales has turned that absence into a bold visual language—one that not only centers West African spirituality but also traces its survival through colonization, enslavement, and the transatlantic slave trade.
—Yola Robert, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
As for the enslavement of my African ancestors, who literally built the economic infrastructure of America with forced, free labor, from 1619 to 1865—246 years—this section of the American journey was reduced to mere paragraphs.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
From the days of enslavement, there are stories of Black women forming a safety net of people around them to help protect themselves, their friends, and their children.
—Sarah Rex, JSTOR Daily, 20 Aug. 2025
Part of the enslavement process was the erasure of language, culture, family and religion.
—Damenica Ellis, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2025
Essence, 29 Oct. 2025
For the Spanish, in one sense, the justification for the enslavement of Africans was complex and varied.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
The National Museum of the American Indian recalls how Indigenous peoples suffered theft, loss of their homelands, enslavement, death, forced displacement and disrupted cultural traditions due to European settlement.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 12 Oct. 2025
Nearby, the Legacy Museum takes visitors through the journey from enslavement to mass incarceration.
—Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Since 2017, Rosales has turned that absence into a bold visual language—one that not only centers West African spirituality but also traces its survival through colonization, enslavement, and the transatlantic slave trade.
—Yola Robert, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
As for the enslavement of my African ancestors, who literally built the economic infrastructure of America with forced, free labor, from 1619 to 1865—246 years—this section of the American journey was reduced to mere paragraphs.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
From the days of enslavement, there are stories of Black women forming a safety net of people around them to help protect themselves, their friends, and their children.
—Sarah Rex, JSTOR Daily, 20 Aug. 2025
Part of the enslavement process was the erasure of language, culture, family and religion.
—Damenica Ellis, Charlotte Observer, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enslavement
slavery
Noun
-
Gruelle also wrote children’s books and designed other dolls to expand Raggedy Ann’s lore, which is filled with nostalgia for slavery.—
Essence,
Essence,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The only way to assure that a Constitution possessing such powers was ratified was to keep slavery off the agenda.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enslavement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enslavement. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
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