as in slaves
a person in the past who belonged to a low social class and who lived and worked on land owned by another person
Medieval serfs who tended land owned by a lord.
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Recent Examples of serfs
Slaves, serfs, peasants, and wage workers mostly understood that what was being struck was a hammer blow on their behalf.
—
Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serfs
Noun
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Paired with the exhibit will be a collection of slavery documents from AARLCC, such as bills of sale for slaves, insurance documents, and emancipation documents, Hobbs said.—
Raisa Habersham,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
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About 11 percent of Africans brought to Grenada as slaves between 1669 and 1808 are believed to have been Sierra Leonean, like my parents, whose direct lineage avoided the ships by grace alone.—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
23 Aug. 2025
Noun
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News of Coward’s impending attendance, spread by the area’s servants, results in a triumphant event in which Coward not only sings a song but also, upon hearing of Mary’s divorce, hatches the plot for Private Lives.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2025
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The first such center was established in Taylor, Michigan, with others eventually popping up in Florida, Texas and Missouri — all of them making money off the backs of servants who allegedly were forced to work for free.—
Tresa Baldas,
Freep.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Serfs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serfs. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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