1
as in subordinate
very willing to obey someone else
She was an equal partner in the marriage and not a subservient wife.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of subservient
Despite working in a position of power within the ecosystem of the hotel, they are still essentially subservient to all of their guests, if not significantly less well off.
—
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 3 Apr. 2025
We are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
The problem of a very hierarchical party is that not a lot of alternative figures emerge because there’s the leader and only the leader, and everyone else is just subservient to the leader.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2025
And, when the U.S. government began requesting the extradition of the leaders, the Salvadoran courts, subservient to Bukele, repeatedly found excuses to avoid handing them over.
—Danielle MacKey, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subservient
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 3 Apr. 2025
We are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
The problem of a very hierarchical party is that not a lot of alternative figures emerge because there’s the leader and only the leader, and everyone else is just subservient to the leader.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2025
And, when the U.S. government began requesting the extradition of the leaders, the Salvadoran courts, subservient to Bukele, repeatedly found excuses to avoid handing them over.
—Danielle MacKey, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subservient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subservient
Adjective
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Independent Trustee: The Court favorably noted that the trustees were not related or subordinate to the settlor, and were not beneficiaries of the trust’s income or principal.—
Martin Shenkman,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2025
-
The Soviets had to send troops into Budapest in 1956 and Prague in 1968 to keep the governments there subordinate to Moscow.—
Robert O. Keohane,
Foreign Affairs,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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There’s also the risk of secondary toxicity if a mole comes to the surface, dies, and is eaten by a raptor or other predator.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
21 June 2025
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Ideally, this wouldn’t involve adding just one top-six winger this offseason, but rather adding several pieces to revamp the club’s secondary scoring support up and down the lineup.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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The scale asks whether a respondent tends to prefer children who are obedient, well behaved and well mannered or children who are independent, creative and considerate.—
Adam Eichen,
The Conversation,
11 June 2025
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Those who tend to favor obedient children are scored as having more authoritarian views.—
Adam Eichen,
The Conversation,
11 June 2025
Adjective
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The 33-year-old has supported taxing the ultra-wealthy, financial transactions and passive income like dividends.—
Yun Li,Alex Harring,
CNBC,
25 June 2025
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By turning passive browsing into real-time engagement, selling via livestream gives brands a direct line to their audience, combining product education with urgency, authenticity and social proof.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subservient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subservient. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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