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
Guy Lodge, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
In her lawsuit, Rivers claimed Combs controlled her sleeping schedule, mocked her eating disorder, yelled at her, and forced her to do menial manual labor without pay.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 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
Resistant to seeking full-time employment that would exhaust his writing time, Paul instead signs up to a website that assigns one-off menial jobs — yard work, rubble removal, flatpack furniture assembly — to the freelancer willing to work for the lowest possible rate.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
In her lawsuit, Rivers claimed Combs controlled her sleeping schedule, mocked her eating disorder, yelled at her, and forced her to do menial manual labor without pay.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 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
-
From bright, bold hard-shell spinners to the humble duffel bag, carry-on luggage comes in seemingly endless varieties.—
Sal Vaglica,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Well, maybe not cheering, exactly, but at least nodding in mild appreciation at a movie that realizes its humble and happy purpose.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Nonetheless, the two become close, to the degree that they are compared to Don Quixote and his faithful servant Sancho Panza.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Their society was hierarchical, with those below the caciques known as the nitaínos (elites), behiques (perhaps shamans), and the naborías (usually servants and commoners).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 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
-
His servile defense secretary has threatened to deploy the military in other cities.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
This meek performance prompted a furious reaction from the fanbase.—
Jay Harris,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Tessa Thompson stars as the willful heroine, married to a rather meek academic, George Tesman (Tom Bateman), who’s angling for an important university position.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Menial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/menial. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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