serfdom

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 Johnson envisioned a postwar order in which former slaves would transition into permanent serfdom, destined for labor but no independent economic life and no place in politics. David W. Blight, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2020 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 See All Example Sentences for serfdom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serfdom
Noun
  • 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
  • Drawing on quotations from Karl Marx, a Lincoln enthusiast, Stewart argues that Lincoln was essentially the first Marxist President: embracing a view of labor not far from Marx’s own, and opposing the peonage of working people in all its forms.
    Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Wilson responded, first disagreeing with Lackey’s assessment of the association between involuntary servitude in prisons and slavery.
    Jenavieve Hatch, Sacbee.com, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Broken shackles lie underneath the statue’s drapery, to symbolize the end of all types of servitude and oppression.
    Jack Guy, CNN, 18 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The music goes way back and carries religious and racial context, especially roots in slavery.
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 19 May 2025
  • In Texas, slavery didn’t end until June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston and issued General Order No. 3, informing the people of Texas that all who’d been enslaved were free—the event commemorated as Juneteenth.
    Jacoba Urist, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 May 2025
Noun
  • The Lounge is home to three simulators, all of which are built from parts salvaged from real airplanes, from the pilot chairs to yokes.
    Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025
  • The ripstop is applied to the shirt’s pointed Western yoke, collar and chest flaps.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 11 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Some of the photos and video images showed children 11 and younger in bondage and having sado-masochistic acts inflicted on them, according to a news release Thursday by U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson’s office.
    Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 9 May 2025
  • Gorsuch calls out 'bondage' in children’s LGBTQ storybook 3.
    FOXNews.com, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Serfdom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfdom. Accessed 23 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!