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

Relevance

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 There’s pushback, or almost like a hesitancy, rooted in the trauma of slavery. — David Katz, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026 Addy Walker, the company's first African American doll, was based on the story of a young girl escaping slavery in 1864 and finding freedom in Philadelphia. — Liz Crawford, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026 Publicity about the Zong massacre helped fuel the campaign to end slavery in the British Empire. — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026 The original marker has been replaced with a new sign that does not include the previous descriptions of slavery or the Confederacy. — Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for slavery

Recent Examples of Synonyms for slavery

Noun

Stealing America dramatically expands this history by tracing Indigenous enslavement and land dispossession throughout the full range of American history.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Some were written by people who experienced enslavement, others were dictated, and some were preserved through oral traditions.

— Reginald David, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of enslavement

Noun

The college sports bill is splitting Senate Democrats; many aren’t backing it because it is not seen as labor-friendly, and labor groups like the AFL-CIO oppose it.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 22 Sep. 2026
But groups like the Hollywood labor guilds are celebrating the settlement news, as the staring contest between Ellison and the AGs caused paralysis in development and spending seemingly across the board at both companies.

— Matt Donnelly, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of labor

Noun

Kalin said Turkey would continue to make efforts to help resolve the tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan through dialogue, the news agency reported.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
The state’s top law enforcement officer will not shed any light on why subpoenas were recently served on a slew of Broward County officials regarding the county’s efforts to explore cutting ties with the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

— Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of effort

Noun

Worse, some of us are offloading the drudgery of writing recommendation letters, grant proposals, and even scientific papers to AI.

— Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026
Co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman spun the Peacock series out of the universe of The Office, transferring Oscar Nuñez’s accountant Oscar, as well as the general vibe of workplace drudgery, to a dying Toledo newspaper.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of drudgery

Noun

Israel robs children of their smallest joys because joy is the seed of hope, and that is how the body learns that captivity is not the natural condition of life.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
The last thylacine living in captivity died from exposure in 1936 at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart, Tasmania — shortly after the Tasmanian government belatedly granted the species protected status.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of captivity

Noun

But like many creatives before him (McQueen included), the relentless toil of brand building eventually began to crowd out the creativity itself.

— Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 9 Sep. 2026
Extreme mountain climbing has never looked anything but miserable from the distance of a screening room, and The Other Side delivers mightily on all that scraping, straining, gasping toil.

— Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of toil

Browse Nearby Words

slavers

slavery

slaves

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Slavery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slavery. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of slavery

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on slavery

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

nemesis

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes