variants
also handmaid
as in housekeeper
a female domestic servant
the princess was intensely shy, and allowed only her handmaiden to enter her chambers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of handmaiden
The common foe of all is expansionist Iran and its handmaidens Hamas and Hezbollah.
—
Josef Joffe, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
That’s for the courts to say, not Trump’s handmaidens in cruelty.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 July 2025
There’s a New Spirituality in Pop Music June 7, 1987
As religion and crypto-religion were locked in mortal combat, the AIDS plague was sweeping across gay communities like a firestorm, to the complete indifference of the federal government and their Christian handmaidens.
—Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
And what the project means by the term—turning the Department of Energy into a handmaiden of the coal, oil and natural gas industry—betrays not only the taxpayer but science itself.
—Megha Satyanarayana, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for handmaiden
Josef Joffe, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
That’s for the courts to say, not Trump’s handmaidens in cruelty.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 July 2025
There’s a New Spirituality in Pop Music June 7, 1987
As religion and crypto-religion were locked in mortal combat, the AIDS plague was sweeping across gay communities like a firestorm, to the complete indifference of the federal government and their Christian handmaidens.
—Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
And what the project means by the term—turning the Department of Energy into a handmaiden of the coal, oil and natural gas industry—betrays not only the taxpayer but science itself.
—Megha Satyanarayana, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for handmaiden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handmaiden
Noun
-
She’s first shown wearing a skimpy dog costume as she and Nate’s housekeeper, Juana (Minerva Garcia), records until Nate comes home and angrily interrupts, disapproving of Cassie’s side hustle.—
Selome Hailu,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring a cast of relatively unknown Mexican actors, the black-and-white film follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a housekeeper for an upper-class family in the 1970s, where Cuarón himself grew up.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Shot in France and partially underwritten by a French production company, Jude’s interpretation transposes the maid’s experience to that of a Romanian immigrant.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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As Cio-Cio-San’s maid Suzuki, Kayla Nanto was less matronly of presence and voice than some.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Handmaiden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handmaiden. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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