subservient

[ suh b-sur-vee-uh nt ]

/ səbˈsɜr vi ənt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR subservient ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

serving or acting in a subordinate capacity; subordinate.

servile; excessively submissive; obsequious: subservient persons; subservient conduct.

useful in promoting a purpose or end.

Words nearby subservient

subsequent, subsere, subserous, subserous plexus, subserve, subservient, subset, subshell, subshrub, subside, subsidence

Origin of subservient

1625–35; < Latin subservient- (stem of subserviēns, present participle of subservīre to subserve), equivalent to sub- sub- + servi-, stem of servīre to serve + -ent -ent

OTHER WORDS FROM subservient

sub·ser·vi·ence, sub·ser·vi·en·cy, nounsub·ser·vi·ent·ly, adverbun·sub·ser·vi·ent, adjectiveun·sub·ser·vi·ent·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for subservient

After World War II, there was a long phase in which central banks were subservient to governments.
Carmen Reinhart on Why the Central Bankers Will Eventually Be Tempted to Inflate|Megan McArdle|April 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I was basically to be a quiet, subservient Rent-a-Housewife.
Illegal New York Poker Clubs: A Former Waitress Reveals What Goes on Inside|Sara Copeland|April 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
By 1996, they had been happily married for nearly eight years, but she found herself slipping back into subservient wife mode.
Jane Fonda’s New Biography: 14 Juicy Bits|Lizzie Crocker|August 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Asian girls are subservient, obedient, and bred for male pleasure.
Obama's Porn Problem With Liberals|McKay Coppins|April 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Here, in Scotland, surrounded by subservient friends and well–trained servants, he longed for rest.
The Message|Louis Tracy
But this is not the case, since consideration and reflection no less than hearing are subservient to comprehension.
The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Sankaracarya|Translator: George Thibaut
He 337 had been subservient to Nicholas, extravagantly amused to learn of the trick that had been played.
Antony Gray,--Gardener|Leslie Moore
But even upon these we have improved, and nowadays, our whole social organisation is subservient to detection.
The House by the Church-Yard|J. Sheridan Le Fanu
The beautiful parts, the embellishments of chivalry, were subservient to his ambition.
The History of Chivalry, Volume I (of 2)|Charles Mills

British Dictionary definitions for subservient

subservient

/ (səbˈsɜːvɪənt) /

adjective

obsequious in behaviour or attitude

serving as a means to an end

a less common word for subordinate (def. 2)

Derived forms of subservient

subserviently, adverbsubservience or subserviency, noun

Word Origin for subservient

C17: from Latin subserviēns complying with, from subservīre to subserve

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

subservient

adjective

Words related to subservient

Words nearby subservient

Origin of subservient

OTHER WORDS FROM subservient

Examples from the Web for subservient

British Dictionary definitions for subservient

adjective

Derived forms of subservient

Word Origin for subservient