slavery

[sley-vuh-ree, sleyv-ree]

noun

1. the condition of being enslaved, held, or owned as human chattel or property; bondage.

   Synonyms: enthrallment, thralldom

2. a practice or institution that treats or recognizes some human beings as the legal property of others.

3. a state of subjection like that of a slave.

   He longed to escape the slavery of drug addiction.

4. severe toil; drudgery.

   Synonyms: labor, moil

slavery

/ ˈsleɪvərɪ /

noun

1. 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

2. the subjection of a person to another person, esp in being forced into work

3. the condition of being subject to some influence or habit

4. work done in harsh conditions for low pay

Other Word Forms

• preslavery adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slavery¹

First recorded in 1545–55; slav(e) + -ery

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Sethe, who has spent much of her life in slavery, is disturbed by the ghost of the baby she killed to spare the child from slavery.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

The end of slavery wouldn’t occur until the war’s end.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

It created a pot of funding dedicated to what it calls “patriotic education,” which has been criticized for downplaying some of the country’s most troubling episodes, including slavery.

Read more on Salon

In 2023, a UN judge said the UK likely owed more than £18tn in reparations for its historical role in slavery.

Read more on BBC

Take, for example, the increasingly popular conservative idea that slavery was actually good for Black people, or at least not that bad.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bondage 
• captivity 
• enslavement 
• serfdom 
• servitude 
• subjugation