menial

American  

[mee-nee-uhl, meen-yuhl] / ˈmi ni əl, ˈmin yəl /

adjective

1. lowly and sometimes degrading.

   menial work.

   Antonyms:

   dignified

2. servile; submissive.

   menial attitudes.

   Synonyms:

   fawning

   Antonyms:

   proud

3. pertaining to or suitable for domestic servants; humble.

   menial furnishings.

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noun

1. a domestic servant.

   Synonyms:

   lackey, hireling, underling, attendant

2. a servile person.

menial British  

/ ˈmiːnɪəl /

adjective

1. consisting of or occupied with work requiring little skill, esp domestic duties such as cleaning

2. of, involving, or befitting servants

3. servile

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noun

1. a domestic servant

2. a servile person

Related Words

See servile.

Other Word Forms

• menially adverb
• nonmenial adjective
• nonmenially adverb
• unmenial adjective
• unmenially adverb

Etymology

Origin of menial

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English meynyal, from Anglo-French me(i)nial; meiny, -al ¹

Example Sentences

By offloading the menial stuff to an artificial-intelligence, she says she has freed up time she wouldn’t otherwise have, time she now spends taking guitar and singing lessons.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026

While robots may be able to take over menial tasks, humans will be needed to supervise and repair complex fleets.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 12, 2026

Luke has been waiting 65 years, doing menial work as a bartender in the Junction, hoping to be reunited with his love.

From Salon • Nov. 27, 2025

The highly-publicised Neo from tech firm 1X, slated to launch in 2026, can do menial chores like emptying the dishwasher, folding clothes and fetching you items.

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

Toward the end of 1966 my father was temporarily laid off his job as a menial labourer for a white firm in Germiston, a white city an hour’s bus ride southeast of Johannesburg.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane