unservile

9.6

Not willing to obey or please others

adjective
/ʌnˈsɜrvaɪl/

: no servil

She gave her opinion in an unservile manner, refusing to flatter the committee.

Examples

The journal valued unservile criticism over blind loyalty to any ideology.
His unservile attitude earned him both respect and criticism from his colleagues.
Her unservile attitude impressed the committee.
He remained unservile even in the face of pressure.
His unservile attitude earned him both respect and criticism from his colleagues.
She expressed her thoughts in an unservile manner, challenging the committee's assumptions.
He maintained an unservile stance during the negotiations, which surprised the other party.

Synonyms

nonservile

vsunservile

1 8.6

Being free and unwilling to obey or copy others

is about avoiding eager pleasing rather than asserting independence

unsubmissive

vsunservile

1 8.4

A person who refuses to accept orders or let others control them

is about avoiding eager pleasing rather than refusing authority

Antonyms

submissive

39 5.1

Willing to obey others and not argue

servile

5 7.4

Too ready to obey and please other people

How Servile

obsequious

Formal

8 9.3

submissive

39 5.1

respectful

146 1.1

unservile

9.6

independent

879 2.3

Surface Forms

unservile positive

Morphology

unservile = servile (transparent) = un + servile

Formed by the productive negating prefix 'un-' added to the adjective 'servile', so the meaning 'not servile' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Unservile is made of the part un- ('not') and servile, which comes from an old word for 'slave' and is the same part you see in serve and servant. So unservile means 'not submissive' or not willing to act like a servant.