variants
also handmaid
as in maid
a female domestic servant
the princess was intensely shy, and allowed only her handmaiden to enter her chambers
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 handmaiden
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
In Gilead, women exist in complete subordination to men, especially the handmaids, a class of women who are still fertile despite an ongoing environmental catastrophe that has decimated birth rates.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024
However, like the original, it’s also grounded in the paranoia, compromises, and drudgery that are the handmaidens of intelligence work.
—Andy Meek, airmail.news, 23 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for handmaiden
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
In Gilead, women exist in complete subordination to men, especially the handmaids, a class of women who are still fertile despite an ongoing environmental catastrophe that has decimated birth rates.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024
However, like the original, it’s also grounded in the paranoia, compromises, and drudgery that are the handmaidens of intelligence work.
—Andy Meek, airmail.news, 23 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for handmaiden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for handmaiden
Noun
-
Lucia Balordi as Nastasia, Ellen’s ladies’ maid who has become a close friend and confidant.—
Joe Otterson,
Variety,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Burnett was content to mine references from her own Depression-era youth; her famous maid character, the Charwoman, who became something of a show mascot, harked back to Chaplin’s Little Tramp, wearing a rumpled outfit and performing silent reveries.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Their three children's longtime nanny, Maria Turrion Borrallo, and housekeepers will likely stay in smaller properties nearby.—
Stephanie Petit,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
-
In one case, a hospital employee worked her way up from housekeeper to registrar to quality analyst.—
Rae Ellen Bichell,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Handmaiden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/handmaiden. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share