subservient
Americanadjective
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serving or acting in a subordinate capacity; subordinate.
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excessively submissive; servile; obsequious.
subservient persons;
subservient conduct.
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useful in promoting a purpose or end.
adjective
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obsequious in behaviour or attitude
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serving as a means to an end
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a less common word for subordinate
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of subservient
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin subservient- (stem of subserviēns, present participle of subservīre “to serve as a subordinate”; see subserve), equivalent to sub- prefix meaning “under, below, beneath, etc.” + servi-, stem of servīre “to serve” + -ent noun and adjective suffix; see sub-, serve, -ent
Explanation
Subservient means "compliant," "obedient," "submissive," or having the qualities of a servant. Something that's subservient has been made useful, or put into the service of, something else. Our word subservient is unusual because it actually comes from the Latin word of exactly the same spelling and almost the identical meaning — "subjecting to" or "complying with." Usually words change a little in spelling or meaning when they are adopted from another language, but this one did not. Maybe the word subservient seemed so subservient that it could comply with the rules of any language!
Vocabulary lists containing subservient
Power Prefix: sub-
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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100 SAT words Beginning with "S"
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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.
It prompted me to start a media group called PRISM, People’s Response to Inefficient Subservient Media.
From Salon • Mar. 20, 2016
Subservient Chicken was a pretty unexpected but compelling approach to talk about 'Chicken Your Way.'
From BusinessWeek • Jul. 29, 2010
They conceived of Subservient Chicken, the website that invites viewers to order around a man dressed in a chicken costume.
From BusinessWeek • Jul. 29, 2010
That's the company, after all, that created the Subservient Chicken, Burger King's bizarre chicken-sandwich mascot.
From Time Magazine Archive
Finally, a receptionist at Subservient said she knew that Mr. Poe worked down the street, at Mulctuary Money Management.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
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.
