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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How is the word servile distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of servile are obsequious, slavish, and subservient. While all these words mean "showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience," servile suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave.

a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on

When might obsequious be a better fit than servile?

While in some cases nearly identical to servile, obsequious implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner.

waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities

When could slavish be used to replace servile?

The words slavish and servile can be used in similar contexts, but slavish suggests abject or debased servility.

the slavish status of migrant farm workers

When would subservient be a good substitute for servile?

In some situations, the words subservient and servile are roughly equivalent. However, subservient implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position.

domestic help was expected to be properly subservient

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of servile His co-stars, like Will Ferrell’s savage Mugatu, Owen Wilson’s stoner hottie Hansel, and Nathan Lee Graham’s servile Todd — all so precise and well-defined in the original’s ravelike milieu — are doomed to retrace their old steps here. Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024 These officials could, in turn, redistribute some of their private goods among their own servile lieutenants, but the monarch retained ultimate power to grant or revoke their privileged status. Serhiy Kudelia, Foreign Affairs, 27 Feb. 2014 That this was news was hard to believe, since complaints about servile female voices had been made not for years but for decades. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024 Some Hawaiian cultural experts say aloha is a complex and fluid idea, too often misconstrued as a sweet and servile way of tolerating visitors. Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023 See All Example Sentences for servile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for servile
Adjective
  • Your support has helped grow the team from its humble beginnings to an F1 powerhouse that laid claim to 6 Constructors Championships and 8 Drivers Championships.
    Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
  • Other successes like Mark Cuban and Keke Palmer, who similarly came from humble beginnings, echo his frugal habits and anxieties.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 10 July 2025
Adjective
  • Antoinette becomes a de facto leader when her meek husband crumbles under pressure.
    Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2025
  • The end of season 2 turned the tables on the meek Ada and domineering Agnes when Agnes lost her fortune thanks to her son Oscar (Blake Ritson) trusting the wrong people.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • Marxism has been an abject failure when it’s been tried.
    Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 13 July 2025
  • But Zuckerberg isn’t the only one paying abject obeisance to the president.
    Max Taves, Mercury News, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • Most of Fetch’s employees toiled away at menial spreadsheet work, while its engineers worked with a new third-party contractor to build a technological infrastructure that actually processed users’ receipts in real time.
    Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 3 July 2025
  • There are more inmates than jobs, and the jobs that are available are mostly menial and pay around 15 cents per hour.
    Neil Senturia, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Servile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/servile. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.

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