enslave

[en-sleyv]

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verb (used with object), en·slaved, en·slav·ing.

to make a slave of; reduce to slavery: His drug addiction has completely enslaved him.

Origin of enslave

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

Related formsen·slave·ment, nounen·slav·er, nounre·en·slave, verb (used with object), re·en·slaved, re·en·slav·ing.re·en·slave·ment, nounun·en·slaved, adjective

Synonyms for enslave

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enchain, shackle; control, dominate.

Antonyms for enslave

free, liberate, release.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for enslavement

servitude, slavery, subjection

Examples from the Web for enslavement

Contemporary Examples of enslavement

Even then, it would be a far cry from enslavement, where everything produced is stolen by an outside power.
The Right’s Slavery Obsession
Jamelle Bouie
November 12, 2013
Any attempt to encroach on it, even by an iota, will ultimately lead to our enslavement by a federal tyranny.
Gun-Control Foes Misunderstand the Intent of the Second Amendment
Jack Schwartz
December 18, 2012
Free votes can supplant villains with worse villains, corruption, and brutality with tyranny and enslavement of women.
Leslie H. Gelb on Egypt, Syria: Take a Deep Breath, America
Leslie H. Gelb
June 18, 2012

Historical Examples of enslavement

He is no party to his own enslavement,—he is none to his disenthralment.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
I execrate the enslavement of the mind of our young children by the ecclesiastics.
The Necessity of Atheism
Dr. D.M. Brooks
But ask the slave what is his condition—what his state of mind—what he thinks of enslavement?
My Bondage and My Freedom
Frederick Douglass
The South had begun by agreeing reluctantly to the enslavement of men.
What I Saw in America
G. K. Chesterton
This enslavement was not to foreign rulers, but to those of their own blood.
Usury
Calvin Elliott

British Dictionary definitions for enslavement

enslave

verb

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

Derived Formsenslavement, nounenslaver, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for enslavement

1690s, from enslave + -ment.

enslave

1640s, from en- (1) "make, put in" + slave (n.). Related: Enslaved; enslaving.