as in serfdom
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Recent Examples of peonage
The Black community’s relationship with growing food is colored by exploitive practices, from slavery to sharecropping, tenant farming and peonage, or debt servitude.
—
Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2024
Further, this much control over the autonomy of an athlete’s rights to their own NIL rights combined with a financial obligation could also trigger scrutiny under the 13th Amendment, which, in addition to abolishing slavery, placed prohibitions on peonage (i.e., working against your will).
—Joe Sabin, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
The Wilberforce Act covers physical abuse and peonage, which is forced labor.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 6 June 2024
Convict leasing, also called peonage, juxtaposed the infrastructure of the Old English debtor’s prison with the barbarism of chattel slavery to bolster American capitalism.
—Phillip Vance Smith, JSTOR Daily, 1 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for peonage
Lyndsay C. Green, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2024
Further, this much control over the autonomy of an athlete’s rights to their own NIL rights combined with a financial obligation could also trigger scrutiny under the 13th Amendment, which, in addition to abolishing slavery, placed prohibitions on peonage (i.e., working against your will).
—Joe Sabin, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
The Wilberforce Act covers physical abuse and peonage, which is forced labor.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 6 June 2024
Convict leasing, also called peonage, juxtaposed the infrastructure of the Old English debtor’s prison with the barbarism of chattel slavery to bolster American capitalism.
—Phillip Vance Smith, JSTOR Daily, 1 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for peonage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peonage
Noun
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Datebook Picks If Firs is a vestige of serfdom, Joseph O’Malley as eternal graduate student Pétya forecasts the coming revolution.—
Theater Critic,
San Francisco Chronicle,
5 Feb. 2026
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For them, freedom meant ending serfdom too.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Ten Commandments are about God having taken the initiative to rescue the Hebrew people from forced servitude.—
James Coffin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
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Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a free Black man tricked into servitude for Steve McQueen's uneasy-to-watch yet essential pre-Civil War drama.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That committee approved a set of different designs, which included images related to the abolition of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement and women's suffrage.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
22 Mar. 2026
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Amid all the admiring, even nostalgic, books and films commemorating America’s revolutionary beginnings in the lead-up to our country’s 250th birthday, Ellis’ book examines the underside of that time, specifically the failure to end slavery, and the failure to avoid Indian removal.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Italian explorer's journey also set the stage for colonization and enslavement, and academics and activists in recent years have called for an end to honoring him, noting the brutal treatment of Indigenous people that followed his arrival on the continent.—
Dan Diamond,
Arkansas Online,
24 Mar. 2026
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The festival of Passover commemorates the freedom of the Jewish nation from enslavement in Ancient Egypt, some 3338 years ago, in 1313 BCE.—
Rabbi Moishe Kievman,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Months later, Gershon was hanging from the ceiling, dressed in bondage gear, reflecting upon her early acting goals to perform Chekhov, portray Medea and stun audiences into silence.—
Cat Woods,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Mar. 2026
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Shibari is Japanese rope bondage.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
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John holds on to the yoke, looking straight ahead, as alarms and red lights blare on the control panel.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
27 Mar. 2026
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The super high-rise fit defines my waist, while a curved yoke and higher back pockets create a perkier look.—
Elizabeth Mitchell Kadar,
Glamour,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Peonage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peonage. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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