slavish

[ sley-vish ]

See synonyms for: slavish slavishly on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of or befitting a slave: slavish subjection.
being or resembling a slave; abjectly submissive: He was slavish in his obedience.

base; mean; ignoble: slavish fears.
deliberately imitative; lacking originality: a slavish reproduction.

Origin of slavish

First recorded in 1555–65; slave + -ish¹

synonym study For slavish

2. See servile.

Other words for slavish

2	groveling, sycophantic, fawning, cringing

See synonyms for slavish on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for slavish

2	independent
3	exalted

See antonyms for slavish on Thesaurus.com

Other words from slavish

slav·ish·ly, adverb
slav·ish·ness, noun
o·ver·slav·ish, adjective
o·ver·slav·ish·ly, adverb
o·ver·slav·ish·ness, noun

Words Nearby slavish

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use slavish in a sentence

DC Comics uses a slavish adherence to the status quo to prevent anything socially progressive from taking place on its pages.
DC Comics’ Diversity Crisis: Why the Status Quo Rules | Liz Watson | July 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
She must whitewash these brown men and women, rid them of their savage, slavish ways, and repaint them in her own image.
The Abused Wives of Westeros: A Song of Feminism in ‘Game of Thrones’ | Amy Zimmerman | April 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Zaks had to find the delicate poise between vivid restating and slavish reenactment.
New York’s Greatest Show Or How They Did Not Screw Up ‘Guys and Dolls’ | Ross Wetzsteon | April 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
This is a lie, and only the most slavish of Russian propagandists are claiming otherwise.
Ron Paul Is Supporting Russia’s Illegal Occupation of Crimea | James Kirchick | March 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
His recent opus, “Distorting Russia,” will go down in history as one of the most slavish defenses of Putinism.
How the ‘Realists’ Misjudged Ukraine | James Kirchick | March 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

The whole movement reached nothing beyond a slavish imitation of Giotto and his immediate followers.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 1 (of 4) | Richard Muther
For she remembered now that but for their slavish devotion they might claim to be her equal.
Devil's Ford | Bret Harte
She would not save him to live the toilsome, slavish life of the Jews.
Fair to Look Upon | Mary Belle Freeley
All this goes in, and yet the book cannot be a slavish repeat.
The Status Civilization | Robert Sheckley
While confidence in his own abilities freed him from a slavish adherence to facts which could serve no useful purpose.
A Drake by George! | John Trevena

British Dictionary definitions for slavish

slavish

/ (ˈsleɪvɪʃ) /

adjective

of or befitting a slave
being or resembling a slave; servile

unoriginal; imitative
archaic ignoble

Derived forms of slavish

slavishly, adverb
slavishness, noun

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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