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Synonyms

handmaiden

British  
/ ˈhændˌmeɪdən /

noun

  1. a person or thing that serves a useful but subordinate purpose

    logic is the handmaid of philosophy

  2. archaic a female servant or attendant

"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

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.

It’s right to hope for “Sinners” to rack up a few gold men, and wise to remember that disappointment is awards season’s sackcloth-clad handmaiden.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026

From the journals Metcalfe has surmised that Vivien, herself a brilliant literary scholar and teacher, had willfully lived out her marriage under Blundy’s shadow, the dutiful handmaiden to a literary eminence.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025

They were joined by "handmaiden" Kaura Taylor, from Texas, who calls herself Asnat.

From BBC • Sep. 12, 2025

Sophia, the nurse, and Jacobo, the apprentice, and her handmaiden, Amelia.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2022

Renowned educator Horace Mann saw phrenology as “the guide to philosophy and the handmaiden of Christianity,” and Horace Greeley of “Go West, young man” fame advocated phrenology tests for all railroad engineers.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos