enslave

American  

[en-sleyv] / ɛnˈsleɪv /

verb (used with object)

enslaved, enslaving

1. to make a slave of; hold (someone) in slavery or bondage.

   Spartacus was enslaved by the Romans, fought as a gladiator, and later led an insurrection in 73 B.C.

   Synonyms:

   dominate, control, shackle, enchain

   Antonyms:

   release, liberate, free

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enslave British  

/ ɪnˈsleɪv /

verb

1. (tr) to make a slave of; reduce to slavery; subjugate

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Other Word Forms

• enslavement noun
• enslaver noun
• reenslave verb (used with object)
• reenslavement noun

Etymology

Origin of enslave

First recorded in 1635–45; en- ¹ + slave

Example Sentences

Their spacious home served as an underground railroad station assisting enslaved men, women, and children escaping from southern states into Canada.

From Literature

“But it will enslave you more and more,” said Slop.

From Literature

Even if the country was never home to the coastal forts from which the trafficking of African people was organised, many enslaved people passed through it on the way to the New World.

From Barron's

Meanwhile, Black Americans enslaved on plantations were using homemade instruments such as stringed gourds to produce music with complex rhythms influenced by African traditions, which would later develop into blues and jazz.

From The Wall Street Journal

How did a recherché, quasi-French dish leave the skillful hands of Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved cooks and wind up being popular grub for millions of today’s cooks and consumers, white and—emphatically—black?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• coerce
• deprive
• disenfranchise
• imprison
• incarcerate
• oppress
• shackle
• subjugate
• suppress