SERFDOM Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

serfdom

noun

Definition of serfdom

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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for serfdom

Noun

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.

— John E. Jackson Sr, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2026
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

Definition of peonage

Noun

Countless stories of Zeke’s kindness, bravery and commitment to a life of servitude took up the nearly eight-hour hearing.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
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

Definition of servitude

Noun

But Native Americans experienced slavery as stealing of relatives, as a community loss, and it was always intermingled with the stealing of their land and disregard for their sovereignty.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
One professor reflects on how the invention of sailing ships led to new discoveries and commercial frontiers on the one hand and disease, colonization, and slavery on the other.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of slavery

Noun

Some were written by people who experienced enslavement, others were dictated, and some were preserved through oral traditions.

— Reginald David, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026
While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of enslavement

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“Serfdom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfdom. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of serfdom

noun

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