1
: held involuntarily and forced under threat of violence or death to work without pay for the profit of another
… a trove of historical records—birth registries, bills of sale, manumissions, wills and estate inventories—to demonstrate that in the late 1700s and early 1800s, dozens of enslaved people lived in what's now Cedar Grove …—
Shane Paul Neil
Shane Paul NeilMuch of the existing literature is about what enslaved people experienced, but if we attempt to add their engaged understanding, this narrative changes. Enslaved people … had very particular ideas about their value, ideas that differed greatly from their enslavers.—Daina Ramey Berry
Daina Ramey BerrySlavery is not an indefinable mass of flesh. It is a particular, specific enslaved woman, whose mind is active as your own, whose range of feeling is as vast as your own; who prefers the way the light falls in one particular spot in the woods … and knows, inside herself, that she is as intelligent and capable as anyone.—Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates2
: of, relating to, involving, or used for slavery or enslaved people
As demand for cotton grew as a result of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, so too did the demand for enslaved labor in the South and, in turn, the demand for new land to cultivate.—Jamelle Bouie
Jamelle BouieA Gullah interpreter of enslaved life at Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens, she [Gloria Barr Ford] tells stories and sings spirituals outside of the nine brick cabins that used to be slave quarters.—Tracey Teo
Tracey Teo
Phrases
the enslaved
plural in construction
—used collectively for people held in slavery and especially those captured, sold, or born into chattel slavery
King Charles has for the first time signalled his support for research into the monarchy's historical links with transatlantic slavery. But more should be done to listen and respond to the descendants of the enslaved.—Brooke Newman
Brooke NewmanA steady stream of escaped enslaved men and women threatened the defense of chattel slavery, as the formerly enslaved unsettled the ideological foundations of the South with their own lives and testimony.—Jamelle Bouie
Jamelle BouieExamples of enslaved in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Simone Jasper, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2025
The missing link between whaling and abolition Slavery in the American colonies began in 1619 with a small enslaved population that grew to about 500,000 by the American Revolution in 1775.
—Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, The Conversation, 4 Apr. 2025
Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2025
Saint Louis University planned a public apology for its role in enslaving Black people generations ago, but descendants of the enslaved have refused.
—Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for enslaved
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Adjective
Though Shinn is credited with making the last big discovery, the largest piece of gold unearthed at the property was a 28-pound nugget found early on by an enslaved boy, historians said.
—Simone Jasper, Charlotte Observer, 9 Apr. 2025
The missing link between whaling and abolition Slavery in the American colonies began in 1619 with a small enslaved population that grew to about 500,000 by the American Revolution in 1775.
—Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick, The Conversation, 4 Apr. 2025
Noun
Court records can thus function as a kind of archive for those without any other paper trail, such as free people of color and the enslaved.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 31 Mar. 2025
Saint Louis University planned a public apology for its role in enslaving Black people generations ago, but descendants of the enslaved have refused.
—Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for enslaved
Cite this Entry
“Enslaved.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enslaved. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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