as in peonage
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Recent Examples of serfdom
The peasants’ goal was to overturn serfdom and create a fairer society grounded on the Christian Bible.
—
Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
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
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
Michael Bruening, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025
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
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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On the other hand, the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that withholding privileges or credits constituted involuntary servitude.—
Julia Bowling,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
-
In 2022, an eighty-year-old Pakistani American woman, Zahida Aman, and two of her sons were found guilty of forcing a woman from Pakistan into domestic servitude at their home in Virginia.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
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The event was hosted by Shane Gillis and featured divisive manosphere comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who made jokes about lynching and slavery, respectively.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
13 June 2026
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Sugarwater, then, may serve as a homecoming — a chance for folks both within and outside of the city to celebrate Black electronic music’s foundations, its current-day significance and the Black American liberation from slavery.—
Britt Julious,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2026
Noun
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Nonetheless, the advertisement exemplifies the paradox of liberty and enslavement at the nation’s founding.—
Carolyn Zola,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
-
Because one of the most powerful arguments that Republicans had before the Civil War—and Lincoln made this argument very poetically—is there is no necessary reason that the enslavement of propertyless people needs stop with people from Africa.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
10 June 2026
Noun
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There's no steering yoke or room for a driver because a driver or staff member isn't needed for operation.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
11 May 2026
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No one’s going to be stuck in a hand-over-hand situation like in a Tesla, with its horrid implementation of a yoke.—
Joel Feder,
The Drive,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The two had met in March through a website used for escort and stripping services, according to a court affidavit, and investigators alleged Dale paid Rylaarsdam more than $11,000 during the course of several weeks to talk to him and perform acts of bondage at his home.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026
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Most of this sprawling show hinges on nearly 100 outfits showcased on mannequins arranged on a mock runway, the looks assembled by theme, from bondage to Baroque.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Serfdom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfdom. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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