as in servility
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Recent Examples of subservience
How does party capture — the subservience of entire systems — factor into this?
—
Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2025
People who climb upward by sacrificing their integrity to slavish subservience almost always fall on their faces eventually.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025
But the tension between a military’s subservience to civilian authority and its obligation to uphold democracy is not unique to Israel: military personnel around the world face a similar predicament whenever political leaders threaten to erode democratic values and institutions.
—Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2023
There is no fog of subservience surrounding the concept.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Aug. 2019
See All Example Sentences for subservience
Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2025
People who climb upward by sacrificing their integrity to slavish subservience almost always fall on their faces eventually.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025
But the tension between a military’s subservience to civilian authority and its obligation to uphold democracy is not unique to Israel: military personnel around the world face a similar predicament whenever political leaders threaten to erode democratic values and institutions.
—Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2023
There is no fog of subservience surrounding the concept.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 Aug. 2019
See All Example Sentences for subservience
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subservience
Noun
-
The obsequiousness, the sneers, the boasting, the vacant generalities, and the hand-waving bespeak fear of departing from the Trumpian orthodoxy of the moment.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The overconfidence and obsequiousness of LLMs are training choices.—
Bruce Schneier,
IEEE Spectrum,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
This is a story that traces the path to justice for mass atrocity in the face of public acquiescence.—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Kelley, Offerman, Fanning, and especially Pfeiffer do enough of the hard work to make acquiescence rather easy — and the ensuing journey a worthy reward.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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But for Coles, his indoctrination to law enforcement has been a different level of submissiveness.—
Dan Pompei,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
-
In Killers of the Flower Moon, his Ernest Burkhart starts off as a mopey, weak-minded World War One veteran, eager to do anything for his godfather uncle (Robert De Niro), but there’s still a certain likability to his dim-bulb submissiveness.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The steadfast pushback against the administration might appear on the surface to be an encouraging trend, given the complaisance of the Republican majorities in Congress and weak-kneed capitulation to Trump by leaders of institutions such as universities and major corporations.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Yet electing to be private doesn’t amount to complaisance or complicity.—
Lesley M.M. Blume,
Town & Country,
6 Dec. 2022
Noun
-
The case has sparked a broader conversation about the military’s use of artificial intelligence in weapons systems and the level of deference AI companies should give to the government in how their technology is used.—
Mike Brest,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Mar. 2026
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The largely partisan vote, 54-45, on March 23 was a break from precedent, as senators of both parties have in the past shown at least some deference to their colleagues in the legislative chamber to support nominees for Cabinet positions.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Carlson-Wee introduces himself to Wood with the sweet docility of a young boy meeting his hero.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The same goes for docility, often characterized as a near neighbor of meekness.—
Timothy J. Pawl,
The Conversation,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subservience.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subservience. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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