servile
yielding slavishly; truckling (usually followed by to).
extremely imitative, especially in the arts; lacking in originality.
being in slavery; oppressed.
of, relating to, or involving slaves or servants.
of or relating to a condition of servitude or property ownership in which a person is held in slavery or partially enslaved: medieval rebellions against servile laws.
Origin of servile
1synonym study For servile
Other words for servile
1 | cringing, sycophantic, obsequious |
2 | obedient; humble, lowly |
Opposites for servile
Other words from servile
- ser·vile·ly, adverb
- ser·vil·i·ty [sur-vil-i-tee], /ˌsɜrˈvɪl ɪ ti/, ser·vile·ness, noun
- non·ser·vile, adjective
- non·ser·vile·ly, adverb
- o·ver·ser·vile, adjective
- o·ver·ser·vile·ly, adverb
- pseu·do·ser·vile, adjective
- pseu·do·ser·vile·ly, adverb
- un·ser·vile, adjective
- un·ser·vile·ly, adverb
Words Nearby servile
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use servile in a sentence
The “truth” that the film claims to reveal is that there was a “genocide” of Pandits in the 1990s, hidden by a callous ruling establishment and a servile media.
The Kashmir Files: How a New Bollywood Film Marks India’s Further Descent Into Bigotry | Debasish Roy Chowdhury | March 30, 2022 | TimeI really wanted to show how people of color in servile positions to a largely homogenous group of people, when that’s your employment, you’re not allowed to say what you think always.
Natasha Rothwell Says Goodbye to Insecure—And Hello to the Future | Cady Lang | December 27, 2021 | TimeFor India’s mostly servile media, this is a striking break from the usual after seven years of Modi.
It Isn't Just Modi. India’s Compliant Media Must Also Take Responsibility for the COVID-19 Crisis | Debasish Roy Chowdhury | May 3, 2021 | TimeJulie Andrews played Cinderella—neat as a new pin and not remotely servile.
What the Rise and Fall of the Cinderella Fairy Tale Means for Real Women Today | Carol Dyhouse | April 19, 2021 | TimeWomen were better at carrying heavy loads because their heads were harder and stronger, the Arapesh would say, not because women were naturally suited to servile tasks.
Where Don is confident and arrogant, Bob is servile and accommodating.
Where ‘Mad Men’ Left Off: A Primer for Season Seven | Amy Zimmerman | April 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey are not permitted to speak of that period of colonial history when they were ruled as a servile caste by a Tutsi elite.
In memory, he was reviled as a servile race traitor, a cringing sycophant to white wealth and power.
I found that I reverted to a housewife stereotype as servile as my grandma.
Boomerang Moms: When Mommy Returns to Deal With ‘Adultescents’ | Sally Koslow | June 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is only the servile adulation of later writers that has pictured Bruce as animated by patriotism.
King Robert the Bruce | A. F. MurisonThis he promptly did, and in almost servile language withdrew all the opinions to which the fathers had objected.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerFrom the freedom of nature it sinks into a servile copyism which can hardly be called art at all.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowGospodin Berkman—somehow it echoed the servile barinya with which the domestics used to address my mother.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander BerkmanWould those silly men, those servile votaries of fortune, those effete courtiers, have said this a week ago?
The 'Characters' of Jean de La Bruyre | Jean de La Bruyre
British Dictionary definitions for servile
/ (ˈsɜːvaɪl) /
obsequious or fawning in attitude or behaviour; submissive
of or suitable for a slave
existing in or relating to a state of slavery
(when postpositive, foll by to) submitting or obedient
Origin of servile
1Derived forms of servile
- servilely, adverb
- servility (sɜːˈvɪlɪtɪ) or servileness, 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
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