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⇱ servile - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

servile

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈsɜːrvaɪl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈsɝvɪl, -vaɪl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(sûr′vil, -vīl)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
ser•vile /ˈsɜrvɪl, -vaɪl/USA pronunciation   adj. 
  1. obeying like a slave:the dictator's servile flatterers.
  2. of or relating to slaves, slavery, servants, or servitude.
ser•vil•i•ty /sərˈvɪlɪti/USA pronunciation  n. [uncountable]See -serv-1.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
ser•vile  (sûr′vil, -vīl),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. slavishly submissive or obsequious;
    fawning:servile flatterers.
  2. characteristic of, proper to, or customary for slaves;
    abject:servile obedience.
  3. yielding slavishly;
    truckling (usually fol. by to).
  4. extremely imitative, esp. in the arts;
    lacking in originality.
  5. being in slavery;
    oppressed.
  6. of, pertaining to, or involving slaves or servants.
  7. of or pertaining to a condition of servitude or property ownership in which a person is held as a slave or as partially enslaved:medieval rebellions against servile laws.
  • Latin servīlis, equivalent. to serv- (stem of servīre to be a slave) + -īlis -ile
  • Middle English 1350–1400
ser′vile•ly, adv. 
ser•vil′i•ty, ser′vile•ness, n. 
    1. 2. cringing, sycophantic. Servile, menial, obsequious, slavish characterize one who behaves like a slave or an inferior. Servile suggests cringing, fawning, and abject submission:servile responses to questions.Menial applies to that which is considered undesirable drudgery:the most menial tasks.Obsequious implies the ostentatious subordination of oneself to the wishes of another, either from fear or from hope of gain:an obsequious waiter.Slavish stresses the dependence and labori-ous toil of one who follows or obeys without question:slavish attentiveness to orders. 2. mean, base, low.
    1. aggressive. 2. exalted.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
servile /ˈsɜːvaɪl/ adj
  1. obsequious or fawning in attitude or behaviour; submissive
  2. of or suitable for a slave
  3. existing in or relating to a state of slavery
  4. when postpositive, followed by to: submitting or obedient
Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin servīlis, from servus slaveservility /sɜːˈvɪlɪtɪ/, ˈservileness n
'servile' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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