enslaving

verb

present participle of enslave
as in reducing
to take control of and assert authority over
—usually used as (be) enslaved Her ancestors were enslaved during the war.

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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 enslaving Soon, Catholic missions and Spanish rancheros sprouted, first attracting local Native peoples and later, enslaving them. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 3 July 2026 Soon, a local businessman (Éric Elmosnino’s Don Emmanuel) is running roughshod over the community, basically enslaving the indigenous population to build a casino. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 June 2026 Enslavement or freedom was passed down to the child through the mother, meaning white men could augment a workforce trafficked from Africa by raping with impunity and enslaving their offspring. — Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026 The existential risk of AI wiping out humans or enslaving us could be predicated on our laziness and lack of concern about small signs. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026 The story is built around Kitana’s childhood trauma of losing her father to the evil Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford), who has taken over her home realm of Edenia, enslaving her mother as his zombie consort, Sindel (Ana Thu Nguyen). — Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 8 May 2026 Some Connecticut towns have brought history out in the open by researching and sharing information about its history with regard to enslaving people. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026 Advertisement Du Bois, for example, published a pageant—a common form for sharing lessons from Washington’s life during his bicentennial—that placed Washington’s enslaving front and center. — John Garrison Marks, Time, 7 Apr. 2026 Aisuru and Kimwolf work by first infecting vulnerable online devices, enslaving them into a network of hijacked computers. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enslaving
  1. reducing
  2. defeating
  3. annihilating
  4. overcoming
  5. subjugating
  6. crushing
  7. whipping
  8. licking
Verb
  • The legislation reflects the complexity of the crisis, combining a total of 47 proposals aimed at increasing housing supply, reducing costs and expanding access to affordable homes.
    — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
  • The goal is to improve inspection quality while reducing the risks associated with labor-intensive maintenance work.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 10 July 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • The girls posted a 6-2 record at the state tournament in a field of 50 of Southern California’s top 12U teams with several extra-inning and walk-off wins, defeating multiple district champions, including San Juan Capistrano and Oxnard.
    — News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2026
  • Another democratic socialist, 29-year-old Melat Kiros, won a congressional primary in Colorado on June 30, defeating a longtime Democratic incumbent.
    — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 5 July 2026
Definition of defeating
Verb
  • Chess is about annihilating your opponent.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 June 2026
  • However, this new research showed that these point sources, including pulsars, would be extremely faint, and that is good news for scientists who favor annihilating dark matter as the cause of these gamma rays.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 21 June 2026
Definition of annihilating
Verb
  • Norway reached the quarterfinal with a 2-1 win over Brazil on Sunday and England advanced with a thrilling 3-2 victory over host Mexico after overcoming a weather delay, red card, altitude and a raucous crowd at 80,000-seat Estadio Azteca.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026
  • Lionel Messi and Argentina avoided one of the biggest ever World Cup knockout shocks by overcoming Cape Verde 3-2 in extra time of a jaw-dropping game.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of overcoming
Verb
  • Likewise, meekness once meant not becoming weak, but subjugating power to reason – not letting anger take control.
    — Timothy J. Pawl, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2026
  • However, once Hernán Cortés triumphed, the conquistadors went from waging war — vanquishing the Aztecs — to the project of subjugating Indigenous holdouts and building a self-sustaining territory loyal to the crown.
    — Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Definition of subjugating
Verb
  • But apparently, not even a crushing soccer loss could compete with the power of American hospitality.
    — Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Australia reigned supreme in the T20 World Cup final with a crushing seven-wicket victory over England, completed with 17 balls to spare in front of a Lord’s crowd of 28,887, a record for women’s cricket.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of crushing
Verb
  • Onstage, Shakira unleashed her inner rock star during the song, working the stage and the mic stand in a purple corset and matching fringe pants and whipping her lengthy curls like a weapon.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • Olise kept his intentions hidden to the last, shaping up to cross the ball to the back post before sharply turning his hips and whipping his pass into the goalscorer’s path, breaking two defensive lines along the way.
    — Thom Harris, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of whipping
Verb
  • Signs paws have already been burned include limping, refusing to walk, licking or chewing feet, darker or damaged pads and visible blisters or redness.
    — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 9 July 2026
  • But the Carolinas have their own ways of making barbecue finger-licking.
    — Amethyst Ganaway, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026
Definition of licking

Browse Nearby Words

enslaves
enslaving
ensnare
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Cite this Entry

“Enslaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enslaving. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on enslaving

Nglish: Translation of enslaving for Spanish Speakers

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