servitude
Americannoun
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the state or condition of a slave; bondage
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the state or condition of being subjected to or dominated by a person or thing
servitude to drink
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law a burden attaching to an estate for the benefit of an adjoining estate or of some definite person See also easement
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short for penal servitude
Related Words
See slavery.
Etymology
Origin of servitude
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Late Latin servitūdō, equivalent to servi-, combining form of servus “slave” + -tūdō, -tude
Explanation
If you're free-spirited you won't enjoy servitude, mainly because servitude means you have to answer to a master, like a servant does. Slavery, a brutal form of servitude, existed in the United States until the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. Before this, thousands upon thousands of African Americans were forced into servitude, where they were forced to perform labor for their masters. A key to remembering the meaning of servitude is the fact that it resembles servant. If your friend rear-ends you but doesn't have insurance, let him pay for the damage in servitude. Make him your personal assistant for a month!
Vocabulary lists containing servitude
13th Amendment (1865)
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
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Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Critics of conscription argued that forcing individuals into military service under threat of imprisonment was a clear example of involuntary servitude.
From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026
Sara suddenly found herself unwillingly living a life of servitude.
From BBC • Dec. 2, 2025
The Declaration proclaimed all men created equal, yet the new nation’s economy depended on enslaved labor in the South and indentured servitude in the North.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025
Octavia Butler's fictional president, elected in November 2024, brings back indentured servitude and suspends all regulations.
From Salon • May 17, 2025
There are instruments and human players but sometimes a fiddle or a drum makes instruments of those who play them, and all are put in servitude to the song.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
