SLAVERY Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

slavery

noun

ˈslā-v(ə-)rē

Definition of slavery

as in enslavement

the state of being an enslaved person a child born into slavery

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in labor

very hard or unpleasant work endured the slavery of working in the coal mines every day of his adult life

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 slavery Tracing the arc of American history, the Urban League describes Black Americans’ struggle for emancipation from slavery and equal economic and political rights as a gruesome but optimistic part of the American story. — Matt Brown, Fortune, 30 July 2026 Earlier this year, Leo made history by becoming the first pontiff to publicly acknowledge and apologize for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery. — Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 30 July 2026 Historian Jennifer Morgan similarly contends that enslaved women’s reproductive capacities were essential for the economic logic of hereditary racial slavery. — Kari Traylor, JSTOR Daily, 29 July 2026 The film opens with a prologue, depicting a version of the Igbo Landing story, in which a group of African people in 19th-century North Carolina drown themselves rather than submit to slavery. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 29 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for slavery

Recent Examples of Synonyms for slavery

Noun

While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
Barbados and other Caribbean nations have pushed reparatory justice beyond a historical argument about enslavement and toward a broader debate over development, debt, ownership and the continuing economic consequences of colonial extraction.

— Richard Fowler, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of enslavement

Noun

Those deductibles go up when hospital prices, drug costs, and labor expenses increase, as insurers try to slow premium growth by shifting more costs to patients.

— Julie Appleby, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
Once sent into rural exile to do manual labor for praising reforms in other communist countries, Zhu pushed through a dizzying array of changes as premier, China’s top economic post, from 1998 to 2003.

— ABC News, ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of labor

Noun

Countless stories of Zeke’s kindness, bravery and commitment to a life of servitude took up the nearly eight-hour hearing.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
On the other hand, the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that withholding privileges or credits constituted involuntary servitude.

— Julia Bowling, The Conversation, 29 May 2026

Definition of servitude

Noun

Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer said on X on Friday that the group will continue to target any Saudi buildups in an effort to lift the kingdom’s blockade on Yemen.

— Fatma Khaled, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2026
The significant time and effort involved makes most sense when recruiting, hiring, training, and mentoring large numbers for identical (or at least similar) jobs.

— Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of effort

Noun

From the earliest pioneering expeditions and nighttime escapes from bondage to the modern-day road trip, Americans are a people on the move – restless, ambitious and innovative.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 4 July 2026
Slave owners insisted that human bondage fulfilled God’s will.

— Jim Rasenberger, The Atlantic, 4 July 2026

Definition of bondage

Noun

Like its name suggests, Don’t Let Disco pieces act as talismans of joy, connection, and emotion against the drudgery of regular life.

— Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 5 Aug. 2026
In Pogacar, we are blessed with one of the most aggressive yellow jerseys in history, responsible for dragging cycling from the tactical drudgery of the 2010s.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 July 2026

Definition of drudgery

Noun

The raiders’ prisoners are saved by Titus, a young man on a mysterious quest of his own, but once Bria is freed from captivity, Titus leaves her to fend for herself in the wilderness.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Aug. 2026
Guthrie’s death is unconfirmed, as no proof of her captivity or death has been provided by her abductors.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 2026

Definition of captivity

Noun

Innovation has long relied on the integrity of inventors to ensure the authenticity of their creativity and toil.

— The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Aug. 2026
Outside, a group of tourists paused to watch her toil, then one read the restaurant sign near the door aloud.

— Natalie B. Compton The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 July 2026

Definition of toil

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slavers

slavery

slaves

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“Slavery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slavery. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of slavery

noun

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