servile

American  

[sur-vil, -vahyl] / ˈsɜr vɪl, -vaɪl /

adjective

1. slavishly submissive or obsequious; fawning.

   servile flatterers.

   Synonyms:

   obsequious

   Antonyms:

   insubordinate

2. characteristic of, proper to, or customary for slaves; abject.

   servile obedience.

   Synonyms:

   lowly, humble, obedient

   Antonyms:

   superior, lordly, disobedient

3. yielding slavishly; truckling (usually followed byto ).

4. extremely imitative, especially in the arts; lacking in originality.

5. being in slavery; oppressed.

6. of, relating to, or involving slaves or servants.

7. 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.

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servile British  

/ ˈsɜːvaɪl, sɜːˈvɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

1. obsequious or fawning in attitude or behaviour; submissive

2. of or suitable for a slave

3. existing in or relating to a state of slavery

4. submitting or obedient

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Related Words

Servile, menial, obsequious, slavish characterize one who behaves like a slave or an inferior. Servile suggests cringing, fawning, and abject submission: servile responses to questions. Menial applies to that which is considered undesirable drudgery: the most menial tasks. Obsequious implies the ostentatious subordination of oneself to the wishes of another, either from fear or from hope of gain: an obsequious waiter. Slavish stresses the dependence and labori-ous toil of one who follows or obeys without question: slavish attentiveness to orders.

Other Word Forms

• nonservile adjective
• nonservilely adverb
• overservile adjective
• overservilely adverb
• pseudoservile adjective
• pseudoservilely adverb
• servilely adverb
• servileness noun
• servility noun
• unservile adjective
• unservilely adverb

Etymology

Origin of servile

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English servil(e), serville, from Latin servīlis “of a slave, slavish, servile,” equivalent to serv- (stem of servus “slave”) + -īlis -ile; serf ( def. )

Example Sentences

In "Ya Bon" he criticised current and past African heads of state who he says have maintained a "servile relationship with the coloniser".

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Critics saw negotiating with Attilla as servile, but they wrongly assumed that Emperor Theodosius II had a military alternative.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

Prometheus found himself chained to the side of a Scythian mountain for disobeying the gods, who believed their strength depended on keeping people in dumb and servile awe.

From Salon • Jan. 5, 2025

He could serve as a pet, a provocateur or a sob sister; a servile, wince-inducing stereotype or a sly underminer of various heterosexual norms.

From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2024

My grandmother, too, followed their orders, except that she didn’t seem to be servile because she anticipated their needs.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou