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
Whether a cell in 1598 played a part in conceiving of the scrawny, hobbled hidalgo with a cardboard visor and a bent lance is arguable, but Cervantes’ far more traumatic enslavement from 1571 until 1576 must have formed his intimate comprehension of the difference between freedom and servitude.
—
Ed Simon
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
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
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
Ed Simon
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
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
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
-
But by the end of the 19th century—after slavery was abolished in 1888 and coffee production became further industrialized—Paraty slid into a period of extended decline.—
David Amsden,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Personal family accounts reveal how, despite slavery, Jim Crow and other roadblocks, the Malloy clan became one of Laurinburg’s richest and most powerful.—
Essence,
Essence,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Servitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/servitude. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
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