subservient

[ suhb-sur-vee-uhnt ]

adjective

1. serving or acting in a subordinate capacity; subordinate.
2. excessively submissive; servile; obsequious:

   subservient persons;

   subservient conduct.

3. useful in promoting a purpose or end.

subservient

/ səbˈsɜːvɪənt /

adjective

1. obsequious in behaviour or attitude
2. serving as a means to an end
3. See subordinate
   a less common word for subordinate

Derived Forms

• subˈserviently, adverb
• subˈservience, noun

Other Words From

• sub·ser·vi·ence [s, uh, b-, sur, -vee-, uh, ns], sub·ser·vi·en·cy [s, uh, b-, sur, -vee-, uh, n-see], noun
• sub·ser·vi·ent·ly adverb
• un·sub·ser·vi·ent adjective
• un·sub·ser·vi·ent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of subservient¹

First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin subservient- (stem of subserviēns, present participle of subservīre “to serve as a subordinate”; subserve ), equivalent to sub- prefix meaning “under, below, beneath, etc.” + servi-, stem of servīre “to serve” + -ent noun and adjective suffix; sub-, serve, -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of subservient¹

C17: from Latin subserviēns complying with, from subservīre to subserve

Example Sentences

She’s accruing power and forcing leadership to be subservient to her.

From TIme

In these circumstances, Moscow will be far more likely to reconsider its current strategy of confrontation in the West and partnership with China, which is setting Russia on a path to be Beijing’s subservient junior partner.

From Time

Once subservient to the Mongol Empire — just like Kievan-Rus’ — Muscovy shifted its fate in 1480 when its grand prince, Ivan the Great, refused to pay tribute to his Mongol overlords and successfully proclaimed his territory’s independence.

From Washington Post

It’s not that hard to draw a line from “the machines are keeping the people subservient to them” to something like QAnon.

From Vox

She said that because social pressures and threats of violence – as well as actual violence – force heterosexuality on women, that made women dependent on and subservient to men in all areas of life, including gender roles and sexual expression.

From No Straight News

He calls for reforms that make finance subservient to industry and for the redistribution of wealth.

From The Daily Beast

After World War II, there was a long phase in which central banks were subservient to governments.

From The Daily Beast

You posit that talking about the aesthetics of scent in traditional aesthetic terms makes scent subservient to other disciplines.

From The Daily Beast

The age-old role of women being sexually subservient and men the sexual masters had effectively ended.

From The Daily Beast

He then called on conservative women “to let them know that we are not going to have our men become subservient.”

From The Daily Beast

This didn't seem like the old, subservient Jim she was familiar with and she disliked his plainness of speech.

From Project Gutenberg

Since the Croen were few, they began to recruit from among the Zervs and other groups who were subservient to the Schrees.

From Project Gutenberg

He formed a design for making these lands more subservient to the purpose of emigration than they had hitherto been.

From Project Gutenberg

In the old time the kings aspired to be the head of the Spanish Church, and were none too subservient to the Pope.

From Project Gutenberg

Bute and his master thought they had secured a useful tool, a subservient and hard-working drudge.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• deferential
• submissive