slavery
Americannoun
-
the condition of being enslaved, held, or owned as human chattel or property; bondage.
- Synonyms:
- enthrallment, thralldom
-
a practice or institution that treats or recognizes some human beings as the legal property of others.
-
a state of subjection like that of a slave.
He longed to escape the slavery of drug addiction.
-
severe toil; drudgery.
noun
-
the state or condition of being a slave; a civil relationship whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune
-
the subjection of a person to another person, esp in being forced into work
-
the condition of being subject to some influence or habit
-
work done in harsh conditions for low pay
Related Words
Slavery, bondage, servitude refer to involuntary subjection to another or others. Slavery emphasizes the idea of complete ownership and control by an owner or master: to be sold into slavery. Bondage indicates a state of subjugation or captivity often involving burdensome and degrading labor: in bondage to a cruel master. Servitude is compulsory service, often such as is required by a legal penalty: penal servitude.
Other Word Forms
- preslavery adjective
Etymology
Origin of slavery
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.
Southerners, asserted the Confederate cartel negotiator, would “die in the last ditch before giving up their right to send slaves back to slavery as property recaptured.”
Her dioramas, sculptures and large-scale multimedia installations explore the legacy of American slavery, confront racial injustice and celebrate the strength and resiliency of African American women.
From Los Angeles Times
He has recently constructed "a memorial for the descendants of Africans, the diaspora... whom we have told for a long time that history began with slavery, with colonisation".
From Barron's
When Britain abolished slavery, many of the local inhabitants stayed on, numbering in the low thousands across several islands.
Charles Jackson was a religious man, and his son was brought up in the church - a traditional focus for black political resistance since the time of American slavery.
From BBC
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.
