Synonyms of servitude

servitude

noun

ˈsər-və-ˌtüd 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slavery
• enslavement
• bondage
• servility
• yoke
• thralldom
• thrall
• serfdom
• captivity
• peonage
• subjugation
• subjection
• imprisonment
• dependence
• incarceration
• enchainment

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• freedom
• liberty
• liberation
• emancipation
• independence
• manumission
• sovereignty
• autonomy
• enfranchisement
• self-government

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of servitude

The majority decision rejected Plessy’s contentions, arguing that segregation did not constitute servitude and that the Fourteenth Amendment protected legal rights, not social ones. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 May 2026

Let’s go down memory lane and recall that the 13th Amendment is abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude. — Ann Marie Luft, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 May 2026

Like the Lenten journey, the onset of Passover commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian servitude, the onset of a 40-year march homeward to the land of promise. — Michael Pfleger, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays a free Black man tricked into servitude for Steve McQueen's uneasy-to-watch yet essential pre-Civil War drama. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 12 Mar. 2026