subservient

adjective

sub·ser·vi·ent səb-ˈsər-vē-ənt How to pronounce subservient (audio)

: useful in an inferior capacity : subordinate

: serving to promote some end

: obsequiously submissive : truckling

subserviently adverb

Did you know?

How Should You Use subservient?

Since sub- means "below", it emphasizes the lower position of the person in the subservient one. Soldiers of a given rank are always subservient to those of a higher rank; this subservience is symbolized by the requirement that they salute their superior at every opportunity. Women have often been forced into subservient relationships with men. A small nation may feel subservient to its more powerful neighbor, obliged to obey even when it doesn't want to. So subservience usually brings with it a good dose of resentment.

Example Sentences

Henson and Stowe did become close friends, and Stowe herself drew direct parallels between Uncle Tom and Josiah Henson. Sadder still, the term "Uncle Tom" has since taken on negative, minstrel-show connotations of subservient blacks kowtowing to whites, which is unfortunate, because it undermines the triumph that was Josiah Henson's life. He was no caricature, and his achievements were real.

Will Ferguson, Beauty Tips From Moose Jaw, 2004 Sally Boysen, a psychologist at Ohio State University, probed the degree to which a chimp's ability to reason is subservient to the animal's desires.

Eugene Linden, Time, 6 Sept. 1999 That's why many believe that I have the right to preach but not to pastor. For a woman to be a pastor would mean that men would have to submit and be subservient to a woman.

Chryll Crews, Ms., January/February 1998 As for a "European Europe," allied with but not subservient to the United States, providing for its own defense and diplomacy and practicing detente with Moscow, de Gaulle did not achieve it in his lifetime, but there was at least a beginning.

Stanley Hoffmann, New York Times Book Review, 20 Mar. 1983 She refused to take a subservient role in their marriage.

Recent Examples on the Web More legislators used to think for themselves and not be so subservient to party dogma.

George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2022 Occasionally a tracking device might make an appearance out of narrative necessity, or a character may briefly note the rules of the game before slipping through time, but all these descriptions are firmly subservient.

Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2022 Critics of McCormack within the Nationals accused him of being too subservient to the dominant conservative Liberal Party.

Rod Mcguirk, Star Tribune, 21 June 2021 For months until the coronavirus pandemic, America’s top officials crisscrossed the continent, arguing that the Chinese company is an espionage threat, subservient to its authoritarian government.

Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, 9 Apr. 2020 In the original painting, this young black boy was shown in shackles, subservient to the university benefactors.

Jori Finkel, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2020 South Korea, one of Asia’s richest economies, has struggled for decades to improve safety standards and change widespread attitudes that treat safety as subservient to economic progress and convenience.

NBC News, 29 Apr. 2020 Agriculture and labor leaders protested that the Fed was subservient to bankers, a charge that was echoed in the halls of Congress.

Christopher W. Shaw, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2020 The United States is a federal republic in which the national government enjoys only limited powers, and in which the president plays a subservient role to Congress within that limited government.

The Editors, National Review, 14 Apr. 2020 See More

subservient

adjective

as in subordinate

very willing to obey someone else She was an equal partner in the marriage and not a subservient wife.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

subordinate
obedient
passive
servile
submissive
docile
obsequious
kowtowing
slavish
obeisant
acquiescent
dutiful
fawning
controllable
compliant
meek
obliging
biddable
amenable
conformable
restrained
amiable
governable
resigned
tractable
agreeable
constrained
decorous
placable
surrendering
repressed
yielding
gentle
duteous
law-abiding
unresistant
inhibited
soft
disciplined
orderly
tame
mannerly
manageable
tractable
curbed
trainable
mild
teachable
handleable
disciplinable

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

recalcitrant
disobedient
contrary
insubordinate
defiant
rebellious
refractory
wilful
unamenable
willful
wayward
obstreperous
unruly
mutinous
ungovernable
restive
intractable
contumacious
obdurate
noncompliant
stubborn
rebel
unyielding
obstinate
headstrong
balky
uncontrollable
hardheaded
peevish
resistant
mulish
perverse
defiant
froward
untoward
incompliant
insurgent
unmanageable
pigheaded
wild
dogged
self-willed
mischievous
bad
naughty
insolent
disorderly
undisciplined
errant
disrespectful
impudent
nonconformist
rude
dissident
impolite
misbehaving
ill-bred
ill-mannered

as in secondary

having a less important role, job, or place as something else The employees used to build things by hand but now were subservient to automated equipment that handled much of production.

Synonyms & Similar Words

subordinate
secondary
inferior
added
subsidiary
marginal
ancillary
auxiliary
peripheral
supplementary
assistant
accessory
supplemental
another
additional
substitute
appurtenant
assisting
further
makeshift
complementary
backup
supportive
accessorial
tributary
contributory
helping
adjuvant

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

necessary
imperative
essential
integral
needful
vital
indispensable
basic
requisite
primary
fundamental
required
needed
main
chief
prime
all-important
principal

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of subservient are obsequious, servile, and slavish. While all these words mean "showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience," subservient implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position.

domestic help was expected to be properly subservient

In some situations, the words obsequious and subservient are roughly equivalent. However, obsequious implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner.

waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities

The meanings of servile and subservient largely overlap; however, servile suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave.

a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on

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

the slavish status of migrant farm workers

单词	subservient
释义	subservient adjective sub·ser·vi·ent səb-ˈsər-vē-ənt 1 : useful in an inferior capacity : subordinate 2 : serving to promote some end 3 : obsequiously submissive : truckling subserviently adverb Did you know? How Should You Use subservient? Since sub- means "below", it emphasizes the lower position of the person in the subservient one. Soldiers of a given rank are always subservient to those of a higher rank; this subservience is symbolized by the requirement that they salute their superior at every opportunity. Women have often been forced into subservient relationships with men. A small nation may feel subservient to its more powerful neighbor, obliged to obey even when it doesn't want to. So subservience usually brings with it a good dose of resentment. Example Sentences Henson and Stowe did become close friends, and Stowe herself drew direct parallels between Uncle Tom and Josiah Henson. Sadder still, the term "Uncle Tom" has since taken on negative, minstrel-show connotations of subservient blacks kowtowing to whites, which is unfortunate, because it undermines the triumph that was Josiah Henson's life. He was no caricature, and his achievements were real. Will Ferguson, Beauty Tips From Moose Jaw, 2004 Sally Boysen, a psychologist at Ohio State University, probed the degree to which a chimp's ability to reason is subservient to the animal's desires. Eugene Linden, Time, 6 Sept. 1999 That's why many believe that I have the right to preach but not to pastor. For a woman to be a pastor would mean that men would have to submit and be subservient to a woman. Chryll Crews, Ms., January/February 1998 As for a "European Europe," allied with but not subservient to the United States, providing for its own defense and diplomacy and practicing detente with Moscow, de Gaulle did not achieve it in his lifetime, but there was at least a beginning. Stanley Hoffmann, New York Times Book Review, 20 Mar. 1983 She refused to take a subservient role in their marriage. Recent Examples on the Web More legislators used to think for themselves and not be so subservient to party dogma. George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2022 Occasionally a tracking device might make an appearance out of narrative necessity, or a character may briefly note the rules of the game before slipping through time, but all these descriptions are firmly subservient. Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2022 Critics of McCormack within the Nationals accused him of being too subservient to the dominant conservative Liberal Party. Rod Mcguirk, Star Tribune, 21 June 2021 For months until the coronavirus pandemic, America’s top officials crisscrossed the continent, arguing that the Chinese company is an espionage threat, subservient to its authoritarian government. Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, 9 Apr. 2020 In the original painting, this young black boy was shown in shackles, subservient to the university benefactors. Jori Finkel, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2020 South Korea, one of Asia’s richest economies, has struggled for decades to improve safety standards and change widespread attitudes that treat safety as subservient to economic progress and convenience. NBC News, 29 Apr. 2020 Agriculture and labor leaders protested that the Fed was subservient to bankers, a charge that was echoed in the halls of Congress. Christopher W. Shaw, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2020 The United States is a federal republic in which the national government enjoys only limited powers, and in which the president plays a subservient role to Congress within that limited government. The Editors, National Review, 14 Apr. 2020 See More Word History Etymology Latin subservient-, subserviens, present participle of subservire — see subserve First Known Use circa 1626, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Kids Definition subservient adjective sub·ser·vi·ent səb-ˈsər-vē-ənt : submissive If Martha had been a well-trained fine young lady's maid she would have been more subservient … Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden subservient adjective 1 as in subordinate very willing to obey someone else She was an equal partner in the marriage and not a subservient wife. Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance subordinate obedient passive servile submissive docile obsequious kowtowing slavish obeisant acquiescent dutiful fawning controllable compliant meek obliging biddable amenable conformable restrained amiable governable resigned tractable agreeable constrained decorous placable surrendering repressed yielding gentle duteous law-abiding unresistant inhibited soft disciplined orderly tame mannerly manageable tractable curbed trainable mild teachable handleable disciplinable Antonyms & Near Antonyms recalcitrant disobedient contrary insubordinate defiant rebellious refractory wilful unamenable willful wayward obstreperous unruly mutinous ungovernable restive intractable contumacious obdurate noncompliant stubborn rebel unyielding obstinate headstrong balky uncontrollable hardheaded peevish resistant mulish perverse defiant froward untoward incompliant insurgent unmanageable pigheaded wild dogged self-willed mischievous bad naughty insolent disorderly undisciplined errant disrespectful impudent nonconformist rude dissident impolite misbehaving ill-bred ill-mannered See More 2 as in secondary having a less important role, job, or place as something else The employees used to build things by hand but now were subservient to automated equipment that handled much of production. Synonyms & Similar Words subordinate secondary inferior added subsidiary marginal ancillary auxiliary peripheral supplementary assistant accessory supplemental another additional substitute appurtenant assisting further makeshift complementary backup supportive accessorial tributary contributory helping adjuvant Antonyms & Near Antonyms necessary imperative essential integral needful vital indispensable basic requisite primary fundamental required needed main chief prime all-important principal See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of subservient are obsequious, servile, and slavish. While all these words mean "showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience," subservient implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position. domestic help was expected to be properly subservient In some situations, the words obsequious and subservient are roughly equivalent. However, obsequious implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner. waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities The meanings of servile and subservient largely overlap; however, servile suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave. a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on The words slavish and subservient can be used in similar contexts, but slavish suggests abject or debased servility. the slavish status of migrant farm workers
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subservient

adjective

Did you know?

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

adjective

Synonym Chooser