as in peonage
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Recent Examples of serfdom
That book, Caliban and the Witch, traces the emergence of witch hunts throughout medieval Western Europe amid the transition from serfdom to proto-capitalism.
—
Hazlitt, 4 Sep. 2024
As the Big Three continue to drive down the road to serfdom, car production will continue in the United States.
—The Editors, National Review, 18 Sep. 2023
Following Mexico's independence in 1821, a small landowning elite replaced the colonial rulers, and most of the farmers (except those who joined farming collectives) transitioned from slavery to serfdom.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 22 June 2023
Russian officers still treated their peasant soldiers as little better than serfs (and serfdom would not be abolished in Russia for another 50 years).
—Antony Beevor, Foreign Affairs, 29 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for serfdom
Hazlitt, 4 Sep. 2024
As the Big Three continue to drive down the road to serfdom, car production will continue in the United States.
—The Editors, National Review, 18 Sep. 2023
Following Mexico's independence in 1821, a small landowning elite replaced the colonial rulers, and most of the farmers (except those who joined farming collectives) transitioned from slavery to serfdom.
—Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 22 June 2023
Russian officers still treated their peasant soldiers as little better than serfs (and serfdom would not be abolished in Russia for another 50 years).
—Antony Beevor, Foreign Affairs, 29 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for serfdom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serfdom
Noun
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Roughly 12% were of African descent — newly unshackled, technically free and already being legally recaptured under other names: peonage, vagrancy laws, convict leasing.—
Jack Hill,
Baltimore Sun,
17 May 2025
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Ryan Coogler didn’t want to hide anymore The film conveys two forms of peonage prominent in the 1930s South—labor arrangements not far removed from slavery.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2025
Noun
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Whether a cell in 1598 played a part in conceiving of the scrawny, hobbled hidalgo with a cardboard visor and a bent lance is arguable, but Cervantes’ far more traumatic enslavement from 1571 until 1576 must have formed his intimate comprehension of the difference between freedom and servitude.—
Ed Simon
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
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The word robot comes from the Czech word ‘robota’ which meant involuntary servitude, something very close to slavery, says Novakova.—
Bruce Dorminey,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There was out-and-out enslavement, of Native Americans and Africans; there were onerous tribute demands and a labor corvée called the repartimiento.—
Greg Grandin
September 23,
Literary Hub,
23 Sep. 2025
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Since 2017, Rosales has turned that absence into a bold visual language—one that not only centers West African spirituality but also traces its survival through colonization, enslavement, and the transatlantic slave trade.—
Yola Robert,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Coven is one of the tighter narratives the series has mustered, with its true horror lying in the realities of slavery in the American South.—
James Mercadante,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
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While the issues roiling America today may be more nuanced than slavery, there are still stark contrasts—forces of democracy and authoritarianism that can pretty fairly be described as right and wrong.—
Miguel Sirgado,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This dress has a seven-button front, double chest patch pockets, and a seamed back yoke.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
People.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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In self-drive mode, the yoke wheel folds into the dashboard, and the center screen slides over to cover it; the pedals retract into the footwell.—
Brad Templeton,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The American border agency said its probe identified abuse of vulnerability, abusive working and living conditions, debt bondage, withholding of wages, and excessive overtime.—
Wayne Chang,
CNN Money,
25 Sep. 2025
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Today is the 450th anniversary of Cervantes’ kidnapping and the beginning of his five-year bondage in Algiers.—
Ed Simon
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Serfdom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfdom. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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