1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person
many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work
unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
slaving over a hot stove
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slave
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
At Princeton, for example, the first nine presidents owned slaves.
—Jonathan Zimmerman, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025
Kaila Philo, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Jan. 2025
The scholars borrow from critical theory—including a Marxist focus on the alienation of labor and postmodern pessimism—with some going so far as to compare the resorts to slave plantations.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for slave
Noun
These were not slaves but soldiers, who, in some collective sense, chose to fight.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
At Princeton, for example, the first nine presidents owned slaves.
—Jonathan Zimmerman, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
Charcoal portraits depict six of the enslaved Africans who were aboard the Amistad, the 19th-century slaving schooner that became the center of a landmark Supreme Court case.
—Kaila Philo, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Jan. 2025
The scholars borrow from critical theory—including a Marxist focus on the alienation of labor and postmodern pessimism—with some going so far as to compare the resorts to slave plantations.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
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The document emphasizes the pope as a servant of Christ and bishop of Rome, rather than a worldly sovereign.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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There is no greater goal than to hear, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant’ from Jesus.—
Maureen Mackey,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Engels wrote about the emergence of this group of laborers in his 1845 book, The Condition of the Working Class in England.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
19 Apr. 2025
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Some came as agricultural, mining or railway laborers; others served in the British administration or in the Brigade of Gorkhas, an organization in the British Army made up of people from Nepal.—
Emily Fishbein, Hpan Ja Brang,
The Dial,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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When Michele Romano went missing last August, her family and their close friend, podcaster Lauren Lee Malloy, labored over flyers bearing her image: a woman with a gentle smile and a spill of braids, wrapped in a cozy, pale rainbow cardigan.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2025
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Sánchez had labored through two innings of an eventual 5-1 Phillies loss to the New York Mets.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And that’s exactly what Hub gets when attempting to arrest two criminals who have escaped bail, but who end up catching the bondsman off-guard, shooting him with a shotgun blast (a bulletproof vest saves his life) and then ultimately slitting his throat with a knife.—
Demetrius Patterson,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
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Hub is a second-generation bondsman, having followed in the footsteps of his acerbic mother — and, as a middle-aged divorcée, roommate — Kitty (Beth Grant).—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The official number of workers in China’s cities last year was 473.45 million.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2025
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Trump’s relationship with the judiciary has been strained by recent rulings involving immigration and the firing of federal workers.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
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With Andrew Wiggins clearly limited by lower body injuries, Nikola Jović struggling to shoot returning from a hand injury and rookie center Kel’el Ware simply not ready to compete at this high of a level, Miami just couldn’t come close in the end.—
Anthony Slater,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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Carney may well struggle to hold on to power for as long as Trudeau did, given that the Liberals have fallen just short of an outright majority in Parliament; even the most successful political parties rarely win five straight contests.—
Daniel Block,
The Atlantic,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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There is something about the energy, the belief and people striving to achieve the same thing — things happen.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
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Growing Global Demand For Automation Companies from different industries are striving to increase efficiency, reduce costs and solve the problem of labor shortages.—
Anton Alikov,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Enslavers often viewed them as mere chattel and not worth the expense and effort of commissioning a painting.—
Kate McMahon,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2025
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The game is the system that keeps one as chattel for the other.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA TODAY,
26 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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