subservient

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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

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 subservient Professional associations, such as the Association of German Universities, stayed silent, ignoring key opportunities to resist before universities lost their autonomy and became subservient to the Nazi state. Iveta Silova, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 2025 More importantly to the court proceedings that would follow in later decades, the group stressed that women are subservient to men, a belief that William wholeheartedly embraced, his ex-wife says. Justin Wingerter, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2025 So essentially, Hera takes this subservient position as a compromise to keep reality from crumbling. Mathew Rodriguez, Them, 12 Feb. 2025 This is what people like Alexander Hamilton and others fought for: To set up a system where we are not subservient to a king or anyone else out of Washington. Hugh Cameron, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for subservient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subservient
Adjective
  • Each theater navy has its subordinate submarine flotillas, surface ship flotillas, aviation units, and naval bases, the Pentagon stated in its Chinese military power report.
    Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025
  • Therefore, all the other religions found in India thrive because of Hinduism, and are subordinate to it.
    Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Mickey and Ganter could be two key additions to the secondary.
    Antonio Morales, New York Times, 16 May 2025
  • Although a secondary character, Keisha also offers a beautiful mediation on the rite of passage from Black girlhood to womanhood.
    Meagan Jordan, Rolling Stone, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • The twist offered in this tale is that this dutiful and obedient AI proceeds to gobble up all the available resources on earth to maximally achieve this goal.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • The twist offered in this tale is that this dutiful and obedient AI proceeds to gobble up all the available resources on earth to maximally achieve this goal.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The output is shared between a 1.25-inch tweeter, a 2.5-inch woofer and a a 2-inch passive radiator.
    Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
  • The first is that the arms holding the rotors have been shaped into slim airfoils capable of generating some passive lift at cruise speed.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 8 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Subservient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subservient. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

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