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servile

[ sur-vil, -vahyl ]
/ ˈsɜr vɪl, -vaɪl /
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See synonyms for: servile / servileness / servility on Thesaurus.com
adjective

OTHER WORDS FOR servile

1 cringing, sycophantic, obsequious.
2 obedient; humble, lowly.
See synonyms for servile on Thesaurus.com
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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;see also serf

synonym study for servile

1, 2. 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 WORDS FROM servile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to servile

abject, base, beggarly, bootlicking, craven, cringing, despicable, fawning, humble, ignoble, low, mean, obedient, obeisant, obsequious, passive, slavish, submissive, sycophantic, toadying

How to use servile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for servile

servile
/ (ˈsɜːvaɪl) /
adjective
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

Derived forms of servile

servilely, adverbservility (sɜːˈvɪlɪtɪ) or servileness, noun

Word Origin for servile

C14: from Latin servīlis, from servus slave
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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