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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of servile
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).
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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
Will Dagger, too, as a farmhand who feels too deeply for people who rarely acknowledge his presence, makes a memorable virtue of the character’s servile role.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 14 July 2023
Responding to her questionnaire, Cyril Connolly, the editor of Horizon magazine, pointed out that the aggressive aims of fascist states required a populace that was ‘rendered both warlike and servile’ – the ‘stultifying’, in other words, ‘of the human race’.
—Sarah Watling, Time, 13 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for servile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for servile
Adjective
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Though Saturday Night excoriates Chase as a haughty frat-adjacent character and the actor’s reputation as being difficult to work with precedes him, an early writer paints a more humble picture.—
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Neville has always been humble about his playing career, instead pointing to the talent of those around him, from Cantona to Beckham and many others in between.—
Adjective
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Misty is really Joe Brown, a meek hotel accountant, but after 30 minutes with makeup, a fantastic outfit, and big hair — shazzam!—
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Flip-up covers on the front and rear boxes open up a pair of rather meek storage areas for carrying your shopping bags around, and the rear cover makes a small concession to comfort, revealing a half-inch thick seat pad when it's fully flipped open.—
Adjective
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His first coaching hire (Nathaniel Hackett) was an abject disaster.—
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Because any other result would have been an abject disaster.—
Adjective
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After proving his mettle with such menial jobs, Marks told me, he was eventually given a different but no less innocuous assignment: spend time brushing up on the NBA’s collective-bargaining agreement.—
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Under Trump, immigrants who have lived in this nation for decades, worked diligently at menial jobs, raised families, paid their taxes, have been convicted of no crimes, are being hunted down like animals and deported.—
Cite this Entry
“Servile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/servile. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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