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
Zendaya's Rue works as an indentured servant for drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly), while Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate (Jacob Elordi) navigate married life.
—
Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 11 Apr. 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, 11 Apr. 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
-
His party included an enslaved man, modeled after York, and a trusty dog, modeled after Lewis’s Newfoundland.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Apr. 2026
-
These excursions also offer access to the upstairs of the Big House, where the former plantation’s owners once lived — after entering through the building’s rear, as an enslaved person would.—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
21 Apr. 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
-
Play-in bound, seed still TBA: Los Angeles Clippers, Portland, Charlotte, Miami.—
Tim Reynolds,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Apr. 2026
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The Dodgers’ split-squad group that journeyed the 14 miles from Glendale (and ultimately lost to Texas, 7-6) was largely a skeleton crew of Triple-A bound prospects and wannabes.—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Yenisey Taboada’s small apartment in Havana is filled with photos of her imprisoned son, Duannis Tabaoda.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
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In the play’s penultimate scene — one of the most gorgeous, daring and breathless in American theater, and all taking place in an imprisoned Gallimard’s imagination — Song strips for Gallimard, trying to force him to confront the truth.—
Theater Critic,
San Francisco Chronicle,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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One theory for how the disease is spread is through captive cervid farms that house deer, elk, or moose in large quantities.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
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However, thanks to efforts to reintroduce captive piping plovers into the wild and conserve their natural habitat, their local numbers have seen a resurgence.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Indentured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indentured. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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