slavery
Americannoun
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the condition of being enslaved, held, or owned as human chattel or property; bondage.
- Synonyms:
- enthrallment, thralldom
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a practice or institution that treats or recognizes some human beings as the legal property of others.
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a state of subjection like that of a slave.
He longed to escape the slavery of drug addiction.
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severe toil; drudgery.
noun
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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
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the subjection of a person to another person, esp in being forced into work
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the condition of being subject to some influence or habit
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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.
Simple narratives such as “California banned slavery at its founding” and “slavery ended in 1865” obscure much of its connection to this larger story.
From Los Angeles Times
The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury has been urged to scrap plans to spend £100m over the Church of England's historical links to slavery.
From BBC
It comes at a time of growing pressure on Western powers to offer reparations for slavery and colonialism, and to return looted artefacts still kept in their museums.
From BBC
It proposes to address hierarchical orders, social rank, slavery, colonialism, expropriation and the interweaving of mind and body, matter and spirit.
The Passage has also highlighted links between homelessness and people being exploited in human trafficking and modern 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.
