servile

[sur-vil, -vahyl]

See more synonyms for servile on Thesaurus.com

adjective

slavishly submissive or obsequious; fawning: servile flatterers.
characteristic of, proper to, or customary for slaves; abject: servile obedience.
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 as a slave or as partially enslaved: medieval rebellions against servile laws.

Origin of servile

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin servīlis, equivalent to serv- (stem of servīre to be a slave) + -īlis -ile

Related formsser·vile·ly, adverbser·vil·i·ty, ser·vile·ness, nounnon·ser·vile, adjectivenon·ser·vile·ly, adverbnon·ser·vile·ness, nouno·ver·ser·vile, adjectiveo·ver·ser·vile·ly, adverbo·ver·ser·vile·ness, nouno·ver·ser·vil·i·ty, nounpseu·do·ser·vile, adjectivepseu·do·ser·vile·ly, adverbun·ser·vile, adjectiveun·ser·vile·ly, adverb

Synonyms for servile

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1, 2. cringing, sycophantic. 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. 2. mean, base, low.

Antonyms for servile

1. aggressive. 2. exalted.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for servility

enthrallment, servitude, thralldom, villeinage, thrall, labor, drudge, restraint, indenture, drudgery, yoke, enslavement, captivity, bondage, work, grind, toil, serfdom, subjection, peonage

Examples from the Web for servility

Contemporary Examples of servility

Why should we acquiesce in the preparation of our spirits for the worst kind of servility—slavery to fate?
Dear Frank Luntz: Here’s How to Be Happy Again
James Poulos
January 8, 2014

Historical Examples of servility

Now, he was her humble petitioner, but this servility could be of no avail to save him from shame.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
A legion of hirelings were zealous to show their servility and loyalty to their lords.
The Railroad Question
William Larrabee
Such a thing they would regard as in itself a symbol of servility.
The Polity of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians
Xenophon
Don't mistake coolness and poise for submissiveness and servility.
Dollars and Sense
Col. Wm. C. Hunter
Sal Karone remained in the background, but there was no servility in his manner.
Cubs of the Wolf
Raymond F. Jones

British Dictionary definitions for servility

servile

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 Formsservilely, 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

Word Origin and History for servility

1570s; see servile + -ity.

servile

adj.

late 14c., from Latin servilis "of a slave" (as in Servile Wars, name given to the slave revolts in the late Roman Republic), also "slavish, servile," from servus "slave" (see serve (v.)). Earliest sense was legal, servile work being forbidden on the Sabbath; sense of "cringing, fawning" first recorded c.1600.