slavery
Americannoun
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the condition of being enslaved, held, or owned as human chattel or property; bondage.
- Synonyms:
- enthrallment, thralldom
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a practice or institution that treats or recognizes some human beings as the legal property of others.
-
a state of subjection like that of a slave.
He longed to escape the slavery of drug addiction.
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severe toil; drudgery.
noun
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the state or condition of being a slave; a civil relationship whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune
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the subjection of a person to another person, esp in being forced into work
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the condition of being subject to some influence or habit
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work done in harsh conditions for low pay
Related Words
Slavery, bondage, servitude refer to involuntary subjection to another or others. Slavery emphasizes the idea of complete ownership and control by an owner or master: to be sold into slavery. Bondage indicates a state of subjugation or captivity often involving burdensome and degrading labor: in bondage to a cruel master. Servitude is compulsory service, often such as is required by a legal penalty: penal servitude.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of slavery
Explanation
Slavery is the brutal and immoral practice of forcing someone into servitude without paying them. Slavery is when one person is owned by another person and forced to work without pay. It's a cruel system where people are treated as property, not as individuals with rights. Slavery has been a part of history for centuries, but it's widely condemned today as a violation of human rights.The word slavery comes from the Latin sclava, meaning “Slavonic captive,” referring to the 9th-century slavery of Slavonic people, but it came to mean anyone in captivity, not just Slavs.
Vocabulary lists containing slavery
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The American Civil War
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The report comes more than 10 years after the Modern Slavery Act came into force, and draws together evidence from more than 50 organisations to analyse how exploitation may evolve.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
Slavery shaped the Americas for four centuries, blighting the entire hemisphere.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2026
Ms. Bellows is the author of “American Slavery and Russian Serfdom in the Post-Emancipation Imagination.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025
Slavery was formally abolished in Suriname and other Dutch-held lands on July 1, 1863, but only ended in 1873 after a 10-year "transition" period.
From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025
Slavery was not a sideshow to the settlement and development of America but a central feature.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
