servile

[sur-vil, -vahyl]

adjective

1. slavishly submissive or obsequious; fawning.

   servile flatterers.

   Synonyms: obsequious
   Antonyms: insubordinate

2. characteristic of, proper to, or customary for slaves; abject.

   servile obedience.

   Synonyms: lowly, humble, obedient
   Antonyms: superior, lordly, disobedient

3. yielding slavishly; truckling (usually followed byto ).

4. extremely imitative, especially in the arts; lacking in originality.

5. being in slavery; oppressed.

6. of, relating to, or involving slaves or servants.

7. of or relating to a condition of servitude or property ownership in which a person is held in slavery or partially enslaved.

   medieval rebellions against servile laws.

servile

/ ˈsɜːvaɪl, sɜːˈvɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

1. obsequious or fawning in attitude or behaviour; submissive

2. of or suitable for a slave

3. existing in or relating to a state of slavery

4. submitting or obedient

Other Word Forms

• servilely adverb
• servility noun
• servileness noun
• nonservile adjective
• nonservilely adverb
• overservile adjective
• overservilely adverb
• pseudoservile adjective
• pseudoservilely adverb
• unservile adjective
• unservilely adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of servile¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English servil(e), serville, from Latin servīlis “of a slave, slavish, servile,” equivalent to serv- (stem of servus “slave”) + -īlis -ile; serf ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of servile¹

C14: from Latin servīlis, from servus slave

Synonym Study

Servile, menial, obsequious, slavish characterize one who behaves like a slave or an inferior. Servile suggests cringing, fawning, and abject submission: servile responses to questions. Menial applies to that which is considered undesirable drudgery: the most menial tasks. Obsequious implies the ostentatious subordination of oneself to the wishes of another, either from fear or from hope of gain: an obsequious waiter. Slavish stresses the dependence and labori-ous toil of one who follows or obeys without question: slavish attentiveness to orders.

Example Sentences

He argued that Black people are cursed by God to be “servile people” who are “doomed to perpetual slavery.”

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"As I passed someone," Evans told the BBC, "I heard someone say: 'Uncle Tom'" - a slur used to disparage a black person considered servile towards white people.

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Prometheus found himself chained to the side of a Scythian mountain for disobeying the gods, who believed their strength depended on keeping people in dumb and servile awe.

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Neither do the echoes from his servile party, especially the Republicans vying to be his running mate.

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With the meeting Thursday, Mr. Macron hoped to find some unity on bolstering support for Ukraine or, short of that, to expose opponents who in his view remain too weak-kneed or servile to Moscow.

Read more on New York Times