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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The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
25 Oct. 2025
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Peña Lopez is also charged with document servitude.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To us, Nottoway’s transformation in the 1980s – from a brutal site of enslavement to a luxury resort and wedding venue – represented the Southern plantation tourist industry’s tendency to whitewash our past.—
Essence,
Essence,
29 Oct. 2025
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For the Spanish, in one sense, the justification for the enslavement of Africans was complex and varied.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Gruelle also wrote children’s books and designed other dolls to expand Raggedy Ann’s lore, which is filled with nostalgia for slavery.—
Essence,
Essence,
29 Oct. 2025
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The only way to assure that a Constitution possessing such powers was ratified was to keep slavery off the agenda.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Try the trend in this dark-wash style with slimming mesh panels, a curved back yoke, classic five-pocket styling, and petite sizes 0–16.—
Jamie Allison Sanders,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
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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
Noun
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Rogers noted that the book argues that a central cause of the war was Anglo settlers’ determination to keep slaves in bondage after Mexico largely abolished it.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
25 Oct. 2025
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For a stroll back in time, bucolic Natchez, MS offers tourists a comforting view of the antebellum South, glossing over such inconvenient realities as millions of people held in bondage.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Serfdom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfdom. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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