SLAVERY Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

slavery

noun

ˈslā-v(ə-)rē

Definition of slavery

as in enslavement

the state of being an enslaved person a child born into slavery

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in labor

very hard or unpleasant work endured the slavery of working in the coal mines every day of his adult life

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of slavery Public monuments condemning slavery have been removed, and Confederate names have been restored to Army bases. — Charles Finch, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026 The statement pointed to historic gains in the push for more diversity, including the abolishment of slavery and expanded voting rights. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 28 Aug. 2026 One side of his sign disparaged women and invoked slavery, listing women alongside animals, cars and land as property, according to the report. — Mike Schell, Fox 19 Cincinnati, 27 Aug. 2026 Brought to the region to address economic and environmental woes shaped by the ghost of plantation slavery, kudzu was later abandoned as shifting needs rendered the plant unnecessary. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for slavery

Recent Examples of Synonyms for slavery

Noun

Some were written by people who experienced enslavement, others were dictated, and some were preserved through oral traditions.

— Reginald David, Hartford Courant, 16 Aug. 2026
While Homer followed warriors sailing home from Troy, the playwright Euripides — writing some three centuries later — turned to the city’s ruins and its women, forced into exile and enslavement.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of enslavement

Noun

Assertive Mars clashes with your ruler Saturn, highlighting tension around your home, family, or the amount of emotional labor each person carries.

— Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 1 Sep. 2026
Shipbuilding used to mean months of labor, custom wooden frames, and massive upfront tooling costs.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of labor

Noun

Countless stories of Zeke’s kindness, bravery and commitment to a life of servitude took up the nearly eight-hour hearing.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
On the other hand, the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims that withholding privileges or credits constituted involuntary servitude.

— Julia Bowling, The Conversation, 29 May 2026

Definition of servitude

Noun

Clay did not respond to questions Friday about the status of efforts to recover the money or whether the department is considering legal action.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Sep. 2026
State law bars judges from adding items to the ballot after Tuesday, a tight deadline that could scramble Hanaway’s efforts to overturn the ruling.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of effort

Noun

This display of light bondage proved merely an amuse-bouche to the erotic banquet that Fennell had prepared.

— Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
According to court records, Conahan, an unemployed nurse, lured Montgomery into the woods in northern Charlotte County to take nude bondage photos.

— CBS Miami Team, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of bondage

Noun

Fuller’s ideas are hard to summarize, but always seem to reach toward a utopian vision of escaping the drudgery of everyday life.

— Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026
Aesthetic experiences were here not reserved for museums or the elite, but folded in along with daily drudgeries.

— Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of drudgery

Noun

The poem is about how our most worthwhile pursuits—things like art, love, and beauty—often seem to demand a measure of toil.

— Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2026
With debts racking up, Ina loses the family’s bus company, forcing her to shift between jobs, from construction to becoming a bar entertainer, therefore forging an identity through toil.

— Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of toil

Browse Nearby Words

slavers

slavery

slaves

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“Slavery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slavery. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of slavery

noun

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