1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person
many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work
unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
slaving over a hot stove
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slave
Michael Loria, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
The title is borrowed from Elizabeth Alexander’s fourth collection persona poems, historical narratives, jazz riffs, sonnets, elegies, and a sequence of ars poetica which examines the Black experience through the lens of the slave rebellion on the Amistad and nineteenth-century American art.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
During the latter half of that period, according to Marques’s review of British consular reports, more than one-third of all slaving vessels that made landfall in Rio de Janeiro did so under an American flag.
—Rafael Vilela, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for slave
Noun
The Danes abolished the practice after a slave rebellion in 1848, which led to conditions where a forced sale of the Islands actually benefited Denmark.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
The title is borrowed from Elizabeth Alexander’s fourth collection persona poems, historical narratives, jazz riffs, sonnets, elegies, and a sequence of ars poetica which examines the Black experience through the lens of the slave rebellion on the Amistad and nineteenth-century American art.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
The scholars borrow from critical theory—including a Marxist focus on the alienation of labor and postmodern pessimism—with some going so far as to compare the resorts to slave plantations.
—Richard Feinberg, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019
During the latter half of that period, according to Marques’s review of British consular reports, more than one-third of all slaving vessels that made landfall in Rio de Janeiro did so under an American flag.
—Rafael Vilela, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
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In 2010, a three-part revival of Upstairs, Downstairs aired on British broadcaster BBC One, with Marsh reprising her role as Rose Buck, who had returned to London to run an agency for domestic servants after a period spent nursing her mother in Suffolk.—
Marc Berman,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
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Few spoke up for the man viewed by many as a lowborn upstart, but Cromwell, his faithful servant, was the exception, petitioning Henry at great risk to his own reputation.—
Meilan Solly,
Smithsonian Magazine,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Engels wrote about the emergence of this group of laborers in his 1845 book, The Condition of the Working Class in England.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
19 Apr. 2025
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Some came as agricultural, mining or railway laborers; others served in the British administration or in the Brigade of Gorkhas, an organization in the British Army made up of people from Nepal.—
Emily Fishbein, Hpan Ja Brang,
The Dial,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Then there are interviews, scoops, and other kinds of highly specific reporting; a reporter might labor for months to unearth new information, only for A.I. to hoover it up and fold it into some bland summary.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
8 Apr. 2025
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Tribal leaders have long labored to be treated as equals by American politicians.—
Sheryl Gay Stolberg,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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And that’s exactly what Hub gets when attempting to arrest two criminals who have escaped bail, but who end up catching the bondsman off-guard, shooting him with a shotgun blast (a bulletproof vest saves his life) and then ultimately slitting his throat with a knife.—
Demetrius Patterson,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2025
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Hub is a second-generation bondsman, having followed in the footsteps of his acerbic mother — and, as a middle-aged divorcée, roommate — Kitty (Beth Grant).—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Learn More Auto workers face potential temporarily lay offs amid President Trump's new tariffs 02:17 Mr. Trump has previously reversed course on tariffs, causing upheaval in financial markets and leading economists to raise the odds of the U.S. economy entering a recession this year.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2025
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The coveted endorsements came from the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents building workers.—
Nicholas Fandos,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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And their struggling offense is becoming a major concern.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
18 Apr. 2025
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Behind her glamorous exterior, the real Dorothy was a closeted lesbian who struggled with substance abuse and was mistreated by the men within Hollywood’s studio system before ultimately committing suicide.—
Abby Monteil,
Them.,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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If a cell harbors many black morphogens, for example, and a neighboring cell harbors few of them, then the molecules strive to move such that they are distributed as evenly as possible.—
Manon Bischoff,
Scientific American,
16 Apr. 2025
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The school could strive for excellence and integrity while doing fewer things.—
Jeannie Suk Gersen,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Enslavers often viewed them as mere chattel and not worth the expense and effort of commissioning a painting.—
Kate McMahon,
The Conversation,
3 Feb. 2025
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The game is the system that keeps one as chattel for the other.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA TODAY,
26 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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