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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of servitude
The word robot comes from the Czech word ‘robota’ which meant involuntary servitude, something very close to slavery, says Novakova.
—
Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
But perhaps the consequence was that some deeper servitude had been inflicted elsewhere.
—Rachel Cusk, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
Its clients happen to be from a more progressive section of the galaxy where thinking machines have the same rights as any human; to Murderbot, however, that reality doesn’t look much different from servitude.
—Emma Stefansky, The Atlantic, 5 July 2025
There are no piano players, there is no music without the technicians who work in a quiet servitude of maintaining these instruments.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for servitude
Bruce Dorminey, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
But perhaps the consequence was that some deeper servitude had been inflicted elsewhere.
—Rachel Cusk, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
Its clients happen to be from a more progressive section of the galaxy where thinking machines have the same rights as any human; to Murderbot, however, that reality doesn’t look much different from servitude.
—Emma Stefansky, The Atlantic, 5 July 2025
There are no piano players, there is no music without the technicians who work in a quiet servitude of maintaining these instruments.
—Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for servitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for servitude
slavery
Noun
-
Gruelle also wrote children’s books and designed other dolls to expand Raggedy Ann’s lore, which is filled with nostalgia for slavery.—
Essence,
Essence,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The only way to assure that a Constitution possessing such powers was ratified was to keep slavery off the agenda.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Servitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/servitude. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share