as in slaveholder
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Recent Examples of enslaver
If the employee turned out to be a fugitive from slavery, the employer was fined 50 cents for each day of employment — paid to the enslaver.
—
Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Edgar Allan Poe, adopted son of a Virginian enslaver; Edgar Allan Poe, who managed the sale of a human being owned by his mother-in-law.
—Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
From the ages of 12 to about 22, Harriet Jacobs lived under the watch of her enslaver, a wealthy physician named James Norcom Sr.
—Mollie Barnes, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
In the antebellum era, vagrancy laws enabled enslavers to track and reclaim enslaved people who tried to free themselves by running away, allowing officers to arrest fugitives and return them to bondage.
—Time, 16 Sep. 2025
Trained by his enslaver in bricklaying and carpentry, Moses became foreman of a building crew, erecting barns, homes, and warehouses across the South.
—Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Additionally, too many Greek-letter organizations have hosted blackface parties mocking
Black people, including some attendees wearing nooses around their necks and others pretending to be enslaved Africans or white enslavers.
—Shaun Harper, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2025
And in my hometown of Philadelphia, over a dozen displays about slavery at Independence National Park — including an exhibit describing George Washington as an enslaver — have been flagged for review.
—Jonathan Zimmerman, Twin Cities, 21 Aug. 2025
Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Edgar Allan Poe, adopted son of a Virginian enslaver; Edgar Allan Poe, who managed the sale of a human being owned by his mother-in-law.
—Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
From the ages of 12 to about 22, Harriet Jacobs lived under the watch of her enslaver, a wealthy physician named James Norcom Sr.
—Mollie Barnes, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2025
In the antebellum era, vagrancy laws enabled enslavers to track and reclaim enslaved people who tried to free themselves by running away, allowing officers to arrest fugitives and return them to bondage.
—Time, 16 Sep. 2025
Trained by his enslaver in bricklaying and carpentry, Moses became foreman of a building crew, erecting barns, homes, and warehouses across the South.
—Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Additionally, too many Greek-letter organizations have hosted blackface parties mocking
Black people, including some attendees wearing nooses around their necks and others pretending to be enslaved Africans or white enslavers.
—Shaun Harper, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2025
And in my hometown of Philadelphia, over a dozen displays about slavery at Independence National Park — including an exhibit describing George Washington as an enslaver — have been flagged for review.
—Jonathan Zimmerman, Twin Cities, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enslaver
Noun
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At most, a slaveholder might deserve just compensation for the loss of his slave property—an issue that could be litigated in court after the fact of immediate emancipation.—
Akhil Reed Amar,
Time,
22 Sep. 2025
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The play sees Whelan portray Elizabeth Van Lew, Mary's former slaveholder, while Grandy plays a war reporter.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In many different regions, groups seeking sanctuary from raids by slavers created new settlements during the 17th and 18th centuries.—
Laurent Dubois,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
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The faceless head of a man bobbing in the water recalls the countless Africans who perished during the perilous journey due to disease, malnourishment, and abuse, whose bodies were thrown overboard by unscrupulous ship captains and slavers to schools of sharks.—
James Meyer,
Artforum,
1 Jan. 2026
Noun
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National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author Xiaolu Guo recasts Ishmael as a 17-year-old girl disguised as a cabin boy and Ahab as a Black freedman named Seneca, haunted by his father’s legacy of enslavement.—
Theara Coleman,
TheWeek,
6 Jan. 2026
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Gold Dollar Building Constructed in 1869 by freedman George Franklin in the then Wheatville freedom colony, the limestone and wooden structure at 2402 San Gabriel St. was a post-Civil War cultural and religious center for Austin’s Black community.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Enslaver.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enslaver. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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