Synonyms of slave

slave 1 of 2

noun

ˈslāv 

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

• servant
• bondsman
• bondman
• chattel
• thrall
• serf
• handmaid
• bondswoman
• bondwoman
• attendant
• domestic
• helot
• handmaiden
• lackey
• indentured servant
• bond servant
• drudge
• odalisque
• menial

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• freeman
• freedman
• slaver
• slaveholder
• master
• slave driver
• freedwoman
• taskmaster
• enslaver

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

• laborer
• worker
• peon
• toiler
• foot soldier
• plugger
• grunt
• dogsbody
• grub
• drudge
• grubber
• drone
• serf
• drudger
• slogger
• workhorse

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shirker
• idler
• slug
• loafer
• sluggard
• slouch
• goldbrick
• lazybones

slave

2 of 2

verb

as in to labor

to devote serious and sustained effort

slaving over a hot stove

Synonyms & Similar Words

• labor
• struggle
• strive
• work
• toil
• tug
• endeavor
• plow
• sweat
• try
• dig (away)
• hustle
• drudge
• grub
• beaver (away)
• plug
• bang away
• strain
• peg (away)
• travail
• fag
• apply (oneself)
• sweat blood
• hump
• pitch in
• plod
• buckle (down)
• moil
• slog
• exercise
• essay
• attack
• hammer (away)
• drive
• dig in
• scratch
• exert
• eke out
• grind (out)
• knuckle down
• overwork
• put out
• overexert
• wade
• trudge
• scrabble

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• break
• ease (up)
• bum
• idle
• slacken
• lounge
• hang (around or out)
• let up
• rest
• hack (around)
• loaf
• slack (off)
• shirk
• goof (off)
• chill
• relax
• play
• laze
• veg out
• unwind
• repose
• bask
• hang
• loll
• trifle
• fool around
• footle
• goldbrick
• dally
• goof (around)
• dabble
• dillydally
• hang about
• monkey (around)
• doodle
• mess around
• potter (around)
• putter (around)
• fribble

Examples of slave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But her mother is from India, her father, whose family owned slaves, Jamacia. —Michelle Jefferson, Baltimore Sun, 5 Aug. 2024

America was an agrarian slave society at the time of the founding. —Sean Illing, Vox, 3 Aug. 2024

Verb

Instead, Christie ended up a supplicant, slaving for Trump’s transition team before finally getting murked by a Jared Kushner bent on settling family business. —Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023

But their reassurances tend to fall on deaf ears, as Hannah stays up late each night slaving over dresses her mean-spirited boss will likely dismiss with a sneer. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023

Phrases Containing slave

• slave (for)
• slave driver