as in humble
showing, expressing, or offered in a spirit of humility or unseemly submissiveness had always maintained a servile attitude around people with money

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How is the word servile distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of servile are obsequious, slavish, and subservient. While all these words mean "showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience," servile suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave.

a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on

When might obsequious be a better fit than servile?

While in some cases nearly identical to servile, obsequious implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner.

waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities

When could slavish be used to replace servile?

The words slavish and servile can be used in similar contexts, but slavish suggests abject or debased servility.

the slavish status of migrant farm workers

When would subservient be a good substitute for servile?

In some situations, the words subservient and servile are roughly equivalent. However, subservient implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position.

domestic help was expected to be properly subservient

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 servile That this was news was hard to believe, since complaints about servile female voices had been made not for years but for decades. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 Some Hawaiian cultural experts say aloha is a complex and fluid idea, too often misconstrued as a sweet and servile way of tolerating visitors. Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023 Arriving at Egg Island sporting bohemian attire and a distinctly non-deferent attitude, Monk swiftly arouses the suspicions of Horton and his stuffy, servile housekeeper Mrs. McMurray (Kristine Nielsen). Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Sep. 2023 The statue features a godlike Lincoln astride a kneeling, formerly enslaved man in a loincloth — his servile gratitude could not be more apparent. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023 See All Example Sentences for servile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for servile
Adjective
  • The humble statement was met with loud protests from all of his onstage colleagues, as well as Armisen.
    Jillian Sederholm, EW.com, 4 June 2025
  • The humble bathroom scale has long been overdue to learn some new tricks.
    Christopher Null, Wired News, 4 June 2025
Adjective
  • That confidence paid off as Farrow received her first Tony nomination for her role as the initially meek homebody Sharon in the play by Jen Silverman, which ran at the Booth Theatre on Broadway from September through December 2024.
    Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 31 May 2025
  • According to the latest report from L.A.’s film office, production days on location decreased more than 22 percent in the first quarter of 2025 compared with an already meek period in 2024.
    Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 2 May 2025
Adjective
  • There’s been the sublime, the abject, high drama, controversy, punch ups.
    The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 22 May 2025
  • Based on lottery odds, two years of abject losing might (but only might) get you a top-three pick.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • Increasing productivity while reducing employee time spent conducting menial tasks and improving operating margins.
    Erin Tavgac, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • Like any other institution, the church and its 1.4 billion followers can benefit from artificial intelligence — by using it to streamline menial tasks, conduct deep research and tackle massive data computation.
    Motoko Rich, New York Times, 15 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Servile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/servile. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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