subservient
14
7.6
- adjective
- /səbˈsɜrviənt/
:
servil
- The low-achieving students often engaged in interactions with peers in which they took on a subservient role to their peers.
- subservient role
- subservient position
- subservient women
And so they're there's subservient by being told this is how you are.
- And so they're there's subservient by being told this is how you are.
- English people are sort of too polite and quite subservient, right?
- But me trying to, like, say, be subservient to make other people feel feel better about themselves.
- And I just, I never assumed playing Winston that I had to be subservient.
- And I'd put our own people in and I'd have green zones and they'd they'd all be subservient.
- And it's like this insane female fueled fantasy of like having this, this subservient husband that just builds houses for you and you flip.
- He knows it's the Democrat Party that does not want black students to have school choice so that we can remain subservient to the Democrat Party.
- He says that we often exhibit anger in relation to those who are either on an equal plane with us like friends or in a subservient position.
- But these bracelets were a symbol that they were subservient to men, that they had been captured by men, they were enslaved by men.
- Asian people are other black people are subservient.
- He's like, Nah, it's like New Zealand has this weird fucking Australia even like of like being humble as like being subservient, like, oh, he's humble.
Examples
-
She was supportive of Henry and his many campaigns abroad, but she was also happy to be subservient to him.
-
At the same time, women were portrayed as passive and subservient to men.
Academic text (1993) -
In other words, she is happy to play an apparently subservient female role.
Academic text (2011) -
The English language also helped keep women in a subservient position.
Academic text (2009) -
Now, Dry Eye does not want to be subservient to Matthew anymore.
-
Next morning, meek and subservient, Edward came to meet his employer with lowered eyes.
Fiction book (2000) -
Although tyrannical, Mrs. Norris is equally subservient to patriarchal rule.
Academic text (2018) -
In many cultures, women are often expected to be subservient to their husbands and families.
-
The waiter was overly subservient, constantly checking to see if we needed anything.
-
To succeed in that company, you may find it necessary to adopt a subservient attitude towards your superiors.
Synonyms
45
1.0
Willing to do what someone in charge tells you
38
5.1
Willing to obey others and not argue
31
5.1
Willing to follow rules or do what other people want
7
9.3
Trying too hard to please someone in a way that seems false
5
7.9
Copying someone else's ideas or style without any of your own
3
7.4
Too ready to obey and please other people
Being like a person forced to obey and work without freedom
Being too ready to obey others and not speak up
Very respectful and ready to obey someone in a formal way
Antonyms
How Submissive
Surface Forms
Morphology
subservient = servient (semi-transparent) = sub + serve + ent
The prefix 'sub-' adds a nuance of being under or subordinate, which is not fully transparent to all learners.
Etymology
Subservient comes from the Latin parts sub- 'under' and servire 'to serve', like the familiar English word serve. So when we talk about people, subservient suggests being 'under someone's service' and can mean someone who is 'too willing to obey' or very obedient.