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

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

As androids are released from servitude and others chase down their own kind for their human masters, we're left to ponder the point-of-no-return for humanity and this artificial species. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 1 Mar. 2026

The daughter of a gentleman and a maid, Sophie was orphaned at a young age and forced into servitude by her own father’s wife, the staggeringly bitter and petty Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung). — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 26 Feb. 2026