as in slavery
the state of being an enslaved person
the Fugitive Slave Act had the effect of returning enslaved people who had made it to freedom in the North to a brutal life of servitude in the South
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Recent Examples of servitude
Her name is Sophie Beckett, the daughter of an earl who was forced into servitude by her cruel stepmother after her father’s death.
—
Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The last World Cup, Bertoli notes, was held in Qatar, an energy-rich constitutional monarchy where freedom of association and expression is heavily restricted and thousands of migrant workers are held in conditions that have been likened to slavery or servitude.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Usually, their earnings help — but when such women are trapped in servitude, those gaps become all but impossible to fill.
—Ladan Anoushfar, CNN Money, 24 Nov. 2025
While some people also practiced goddess worship or wiccan spiritualism, for many the witch was simply a cultural display of joy and a rejection of domestic servitude.
—Time, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for servitude
Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
The last World Cup, Bertoli notes, was held in Qatar, an energy-rich constitutional monarchy where freedom of association and expression is heavily restricted and thousands of migrant workers are held in conditions that have been likened to slavery or servitude.
—Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Usually, their earnings help — but when such women are trapped in servitude, those gaps become all but impossible to fill.
—Ladan Anoushfar, CNN Money, 24 Nov. 2025
While some people also practiced goddess worship or wiccan spiritualism, for many the witch was simply a cultural display of joy and a rejection of domestic servitude.
—Time, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for servitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for servitude
slavery
Noun
-
His parents were only a generation removed from slavery.—
Christopher DeRose,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The exhibit on the history of slavery at the President’s House in Philadelphia was restored this week.—
Carol Quillen,
Time,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Servitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/servitude. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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