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
Relevance
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
Ethan Sacks, NBC news, 22 July 2025
Most Americans worked menial, often dangerous, jobs that were so low paying that entire families had to work to survive.
—Time, 16 July 2025
Eric Asimov, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
Despite the national security risk articulated by politicians and federal law enforcement officials, some users see the risk as menial compared to other social media platforms.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for menial
Adjective
Osbourne, who struggled with dyslexia, dropped out of school at 15 to work a series of menial factory jobs, including toiling in a slaughterhouse and testing car horns.
—Ethan Sacks, NBC news, 22 July 2025
Most Americans worked menial, often dangerous, jobs that were so low paying that entire families had to work to survive.
—Time, 16 July 2025
Noun
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
Despite the national security risk articulated by politicians and federal law enforcement officials, some users see the risk as menial compared to other social media platforms.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for menial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for menial
Adjective
-
Even a humble vape pen could serve a website until too many curious visitors try to connect.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Don’t include the humble brags.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
He was inspired by an early scene from the TV show, when the estate’s staff hosted a servant’s ball at Christmastime.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Since 2010, fans have followed the family of the Earl of Grantham, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), and their servants through six television seasons and three films.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Bahrain is ruled by Sunnis and has a mostly Shiite population permanently restless over its servile condition.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2025
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His servile defense secretary has threatened to deploy the military in other cities.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
What threatened to be a meek, straight-sets exit for the 13th seed went full-metal crazy on match point down when Bonzi was interrupted from serving it out after a photographer absent-mindedly walked onto the court.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
-
Social deficits can manifest as belligerent or meek.—
Tao Lin,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Menial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/menial. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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