1
as in subordinate
very willing to obey someone else
She was an equal partner in the marriage and not a subservient wife.
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2
as in secondary
having a less important role, job, or place as something else
The employees used to build things by hand but now were subservient to automated equipment that handled much of production.
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Recent Examples of subservient
Women in the surrealist movement were often relegated to the role of the femme enfant – often young, beautiful women who were expected to be subservient to male artists.
—
Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 2025
The relevance of what is happening in front of them falls subservient to rival scorelines.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Melling conveys the paradoxical elevation of Colin’s low self-esteem through the subservient relationship with an appealing pluckiness.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025
Unlike the two main parties in the United States, Fidesz holds no primaries, and it has been systematically deprived of internal diversity because all of its senior ranks are subservient to Orban.
—BÁlint Madlovics, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subservient
Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor, 2 May 2025
The relevance of what is happening in front of them falls subservient to rival scorelines.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
Melling conveys the paradoxical elevation of Colin’s low self-esteem through the subservient relationship with an appealing pluckiness.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025
Unlike the two main parties in the United States, Fidesz holds no primaries, and it has been systematically deprived of internal diversity because all of its senior ranks are subservient to Orban.
—BÁlint Madlovics, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subservient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subservient
Adjective
-
The San Diego readiness center is a subordinate command of the NIFR, which is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.—
Gary Robbins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Rella explained to the Post that there could be a claim if a person in a subordinate position thought they were being unfairly targeted.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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Instead, the real meat on the bones is secondary tariffs of 100% on importers of Russian energy, such as India and China, who indirectly provide the Kremlin with tens of billions of dollars that finance its war effort.—
Daniel DePetris,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
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When a company engages in equity transactions, whether issuing employee stock options, facilitating a secondary trade or repurchasing shares, the implications on its valuation can be substantial.—
Meenal Aggarwal,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The Guthrie family cowers in obedient fear of its brooding patriarch (Peter Mullan).—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
5 Aug. 2025
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Hana must suppress her considerate and obedient nature or her destiny will be as dark as the solar eclipse.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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Between the noise of passive tracking gadgets and transactional telehealth services, a trillion-dollar white space exists for always-on platforms that translate fragmented data into meaningful day‑to‑day decisions for the consumer.—
Praneeta Pujari,
Forbes.com,
12 Aug. 2025
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Keeping it simple leads to better returns Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the world's most successful stock market investors, has long been a proponent of passive investing.—
Talia Wexler,
CNBC,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subservient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subservient. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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