as in interned
required by a contract to work for a certain period of time
immigrants who came to the U.S. as indentured servants 200 years ago
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Recent Examples of indentured
Under Trump, Congress has behaved like an indentured servant rather than an independent agent.
—
Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 2 July 2025
Among her ancestors: John Howland, who arrived as an indentured servant; Elizabeth Tilley, who was a passenger along with her parents and married Howland three years after arriving; and Richard Warren, who helped explore Cape Cod to find areas to settle.
—Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
The young man probably arrived from England in the 1630s as a cabin boy or an indentured servant.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Both the levelers among the founders and their critics agreed on where the wealth necessary for the new nation would come from: the expropriation of Native Americans, as well as from slave and indentured labor.
—Danielle Allen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
But most indentured people really weren’t given a choice.
—Logan Jaffe, ProPublica, 19 June 2020
Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 2 July 2025
Among her ancestors: John Howland, who arrived as an indentured servant; Elizabeth Tilley, who was a passenger along with her parents and married Howland three years after arriving; and Richard Warren, who helped explore Cape Cod to find areas to settle.
—Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel, 27 Nov. 2024
The young man probably arrived from England in the 1630s as a cabin boy or an indentured servant.
—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
Both the levelers among the founders and their critics agreed on where the wealth necessary for the new nation would come from: the expropriation of Native Americans, as well as from slave and indentured labor.
—Danielle Allen, Foreign Affairs, 14 Dec. 2015
But most indentured people really weren’t given a choice.
—Logan Jaffe, ProPublica, 19 June 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for indentured
Adjective
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Hearing the story from his mother who heard it from two strangers who came to visit the property one day, Williams said an enslaved teenager lived in the house.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
14 July 2025
-
Hunterdon County election, in which accusations of voter fraud by married women, enslaved individuals and out-of-state residents ran rampant.—
Peter Zablocki,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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The basal flange bowl contains a scene showing two bound prisoners.—
Kerry Breen
July 10,
CBS News,
10 July 2025
-
Some day, the 22-year-old might leap tall buildings in a single bound, but for now, Condon is content to learn his trade.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
5 July 2025
Adjective
-
This editor’s note accompanied the original story: Held captive in Lebanon, Alann Steen faced the reality of a cold cell and iron chains, the terror of a city exploding with mortar rounds and gunfire.—
Alann B. Steen,
Outdoor Life,
10 July 2025
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Gina is one of the three women kidnapped and held captive for nearly a decade by Ariel Castro in Cleveland before being rescued in 2013.—
Sarah Dahlberg,
NBC news,
9 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Indentured.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/indentured. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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