Synonyms of subservient

subservient

adjective

1

as in subordinate

very willing to obey someone else

She was an equal partner in the marriage and not a subservient wife.

Related Words

• subordinate
• obedient
• passive
• servile
• submissive
• obsequious
• docile
• slavish
• controllable
• dutiful
• compliant
• fawning
• acquiescent
• conformable
• meek
• amenable
• obeisant
• biddable
• amiable
• tractable
• obliging
• governable
• kowtowing
• agreeable
• restrained
• resigned
• decorous
• constrained
• surrendering
• gentle
• law-abiding
• repressed
• duteous
• placable
• yielding
• soft
• orderly
• unresistant
• disciplined
• inhibited
• manageable
• mannerly
• tame
• mild
• trainable
• teachable
• curbed
• handleable
• disciplinable

Dissimilar Words

• contrary
• recalcitrant
• rebellious
• defiant
• refractory
• disobedient
• willful
• insubordinate
• wayward
• unruly
• intractable
• restive
• ungovernable
• obstreperous
• noncompliant
• contumacious
• mutinous
• rebel
• stubborn
• balky
• obstinate
• obdurate
• unyielding
• untoward
• headstrong
• uncontrollable
• resistant
• peevish
• insurgent
• hardheaded
• unamenable
• wild
• mulish
• unmanageable
• perverse
• dogged
• incompliant
• bad
• froward
• mischievous
• pigheaded
• naughty
• self-willed
• disorderly
• errant
• undisciplined
• insolent
• disrespectful
• impudent
• nonconformist
• dissident
• rude
• impolite
• misbehaving
• ill-bred
• ill-mannered

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.

Related Words

• subordinate
• secondary
• inferior
• added
• subsidiary
• marginal
• ancillary
• peripheral
• auxiliary
• supplementary
• accessory
• additional
• supplemental
• appurtenant
• assistant
• further
• assisting
• substitute
• makeshift
• complementary
• accessorial
• backup
• supportive
• contributory
• helping
• tributary
• another
• adjuvant

Dissimilar Words

• necessary
• essential
• integral
• vital
• imperative
• basic
• required
• primary
• fundamental
• requisite
• prime
• indispensable
• main
• needful
• needed
• all-important
• chief
• principal

Synonym Chooser

How is the word subservient distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of subservient are obsequious, servile, and slavish. While all these words mean "showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience," subservient implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position.

domestic help was expected to be properly subservient

When could obsequious be used to replace subservient?

In some situations, the words obsequious and subservient are roughly equivalent. However, obsequious implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner.

waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities

When is it sensible to use servile instead of subservient?

The meanings of servile and subservient largely overlap; however, servile suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave.

a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on

Where would slavish be a reasonable alternative to subservient?

The words slavish and subservient can be used in similar contexts, but slavish suggests abject or debased servility.

the slavish status of migrant farm workers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of subservient

In addition, the portrayal of the cultural setup between the dominant Alba and subservient Colorata is handled in a refreshingly non-preachy manner. —Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Instead, Trump made sure that incentives for these renewable technologies were wound down in the ultra-MAGA budget bill that the subservient Congress recently sent to him and is hell-bent on clearing the path for oil and gas and coal to dominate. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 31 July 2025

Remember Hurricane Andrew? Ira Gross, Boca Raton What absolute power does A subservient Florida Legislature let DeSantis spend taxpayer money on his political whims, while awarding huge no-bid contracts to his political friends. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 18 July 2025

Moscow may brush off this latest setback, its rigidly subservient state media able to sustain any narrative the Kremlin chooses. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 2 June 2025