as in humble
showing, expressing, or offered in a spirit of humility or unseemly submissiveness
every command was obeyed in the menial manner of someone who seemed grateful just to be in the presence of a celebrity
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
immigrants to that country faced fierce prejudice and could expect to find work only as menials
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of menial
Dawn Chan, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
There were dozens of other US fugitives of justice living in Cuba, many of them would-be revolutionaries that had arrived on the island thinking Castro’s government would provide them the military training to become the next Che Guevara but instead they were given menial jobs and forgotten.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2023
An oceanographer served as winemaker, while Mr. Maltese was the group organizer and cellar rat, a wine-industry term for those performing menial but essential tasks like topping off barrels.
—Eric Asimov, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for menial
Adjective
His father, a professional baker, would sometimes ask him to do menial tasks in the kitchen.
—Dawn Chan, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
There were dozens of other US fugitives of justice living in Cuba, many of them would-be revolutionaries that had arrived on the island thinking Castro’s government would provide them the military training to become the next Che Guevara but instead they were given menial jobs and forgotten.
—Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025
Noun
Outside the windowless offices, the anthropocene was over—somehow these hapless menials had missed its bang or its whimper—and the pre-human food chain was busy reasserting itself.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2023
An oceanographer served as winemaker, while Mr. Maltese was the group organizer and cellar rat, a wine-industry term for those performing menial but essential tasks like topping off barrels.
—Eric Asimov, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for menial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for menial
Adjective
-
Oseguera is said to have begun his storied career in humble fashion, as a small-time drug dealer in California.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
In the right hands, even the humblest city EV can become an unhinged, albeit highly entertaining, tire-shredding science experiment.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Good for house servants, cooks, and cigar smokers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Neither starts the series out with much in the way of prospects, with Jon the illegitimate, unacknowledged son of a Lord and Sansa relegated to the status of servant after her father is executed before her very eyes.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
After all, the deal — for a long-forsaken project, an action-comedy franchise starring two aging stars — underscores the servile fealty of new Paramount owners Larry and David Ellison amid their recent maneuvering to take control of TikTok and Warner Bros. Discovery (the latter seemingly futile).—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Dec. 2025
-
Earlier this year, my colleague and bud Kelefa Sanneh suggested that music critics, as a lot, have gone soft—becoming submissive, overly agreeable, and, in some cases, nearly servile.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
At the film’s center is Seyo Kim (Chen Emilie Yan), a meek state lawyer looking to make a difference, but who accepts, with begrudging sighs, her department’s 80% rate of dropping hate crime prosecutions as just another part of the job.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
23 Feb. 2026
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Tushtu, the meekest, frailest of the chanters, trailing at the back, stopped to turn towards Charu with a sly grin.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Menial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/menial. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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