as in peonage
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Recent Examples of serfdom
Kollwitz’ life also coincided with the final days of aristocratic feudalism and serfdom in Germany and the nation’s economic transition to Industrialism.
—
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Their desire for freedom was at the same time a denunciation of serfdom.
—
Michael Bruening,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
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
Chadd Scott,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Their desire for freedom was at the same time a denunciation of serfdom.
—
Michael Bruening,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
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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Many Black Americans fled this violent system of peonage and terror in the Great Migration, moving to cities such as Gary and Pittsburgh for a better life.
Noun
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Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
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On the other hand, the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that withholding privileges or credits constituted involuntary servitude.
Noun
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The administration has said in court filings that its information also discusses slavery.
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America, whose Constitution was formulated by white men, struggled to live up to its founding ideals in the days of slavery and displacement of Native Americans.
Noun
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Salem Poor Salem Poor was born into enslavement around 1747 and grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, according to the NPS.
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The beverage that fueled conversations that inspired America's fight for independence — centered on the ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — depended on enslavement.
Noun
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Why, after all, did the feudal lords of the South, loyal to Church and throne, throw off the royal yoke to join the Revolution?
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Down Pennsylvania Avenue, a man in a karate gi, disposable gloves, and dirty white sneakers was hauling a cart by means of a homemade yoke strapped across his shoulders.
Noun
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Among the notable elements of the Compromise of 1850 were the admission of California to the Union as a free state, but also a federal fugitive-slave law that empowered federal authorities and federal courts to seize people who had escaped bondage.
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The 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to those who were held in bondage, was ratified in December 1868 and the 15th Amendment, extending voting rights to Black men was ratified in February 1870.
Noun
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Though the national independence be blurred by the servility of individuals, though freedom and equality have been proclaimed only to leave room for a monstrous display of slave-dealing and slave-keeping .
Cite this Entry
“Serfdom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfdom. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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