as in enslaved
required by a contract to work for a certain period of time
immigrants who came to the U.S. as indentured servants 200 years ago
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Recent Examples of indentured
Rue works as an indentured servant for drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly) while Cassie and Nate navigate married life.
—
Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 May 2026
She was placed as an indentured servant with the Toppan family of Lowell and took their surname, per the Lowell Historical Society and the West End Museum.
—Christina Coulter, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Under Trump, Congress has behaved like an indentured servant rather than an independent agent.
—Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 2 July 2025
Among her ancestors: John Howland, who arrived as an indentured servant; Elizabeth Tilley, who was a passenger along with her parents and married Howland three years after arriving; and Richard Warren, who helped explore Cape Cod to find areas to settle.
—Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
The young man probably arrived from England in the 1630s as a cabin boy or an indentured servant.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
But most indentured people really weren’t given a choice.
—Logan Jaffe, ProPublica, 19 June 2020
Both the levelers among the founders and their critics agreed on where the wealth necessary for the new nation would come from: the expropriation of Native Americans, as well as from slave and indentured labor.
—Danielle Allen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 10 May 2026
She was placed as an indentured servant with the Toppan family of Lowell and took their surname, per the Lowell Historical Society and the West End Museum.
—Christina Coulter, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Under Trump, Congress has behaved like an indentured servant rather than an independent agent.
—Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 2 July 2025
Among her ancestors: John Howland, who arrived as an indentured servant; Elizabeth Tilley, who was a passenger along with her parents and married Howland three years after arriving; and Richard Warren, who helped explore Cape Cod to find areas to settle.
—Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
The young man probably arrived from England in the 1630s as a cabin boy or an indentured servant.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
But most indentured people really weren’t given a choice.
—Logan Jaffe, ProPublica, 19 June 2020
Both the levelers among the founders and their critics agreed on where the wealth necessary for the new nation would come from: the expropriation of Native Americans, as well as from slave and indentured labor.
—Danielle Allen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indentured
Adjective
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Merchants in fine suits rode in carriages or on sedan chairs while enslaved people lugging carts and crates wore dirty, threadbare clothing and could be publicly whipped or burned to death for misbehavior.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
9 June 2026
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Wrong As Levenson tells it, in the early 18th century, a couple of forward-thinking Westerners learned about inoculations against smallpox from Ottoman women and an enslaved African.—
Diana Gitig,
ArsTechnica,
30 May 2026
Adjective
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On many mornings, shackled migrants plead guilty to military trespass charges rather than remain jailed awaiting trial.—
Agnel Philip,
ProPublica,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Years later, when tragedy strikes again and a mysterious inheritance surfaces, Ruth is forced to confront unsettling truths about the women who raised her and decide whether to redefine her future or remain bound to the past.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
22 May 2026
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The bound paper booklets in which students hand-write their responses to test questions have surged in popularity during the AI explosion.—
Jamil Zaki,
CNBC,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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Fujimori, daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, were on the runoff’s ballot after beating 33 other candidates in the vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support.—
Franklin Briceño,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
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The modern field of bioethics emerged from the 1947 Nuremberg Doctors’ Trial, where Nazi physicians were prosecuted for conducting brutal medical experiments on imprisoned people.—
Jennifer McCurdy,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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During similar unrest last year, several officers were abducted and tortured after being taken captive.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
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In recent years, Japan has experienced unprecedented heat, with the increasingly brutal summers taking a toll on captive animals.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Indentured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indentured. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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