Synonyms

enslaved

American

[en-sleyvd] / ɛnˈsleɪvd /

adjective

made a slave; held in slavery or bondage.

Enslaved people were seen not as people at all but as commodities to be bought, sold, and exploited.

Other Word Forms

unenslaved adjective

Etymology

Origin of enslaved

First recorded in 1660–70; enslave ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

When he visited Monticello in the summer of 1801, having begun his presidency earlier that year, Jefferson vaccinated his entire family and his enslaved workers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

When the Revolution began in 1775, 450,000 enslaved people lived in British North America, the vast majority in the Southern colonies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

In the 1800s, some formerly enslaved Africans and their descendants migrated back to the continent from countries like Brazil and Cuba.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

So if we’re going to tie the status of children to whether their parents are “domiciled,” under Sauer’s own theory, why would the children of formerly enslaved people be citizens at all?

From Slate • Apr. 1, 2026

Approximately 1.4 million African Americans live in America—about 19 percent of the total population; nearly 1.2 million are enslaved.

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