adjective
servile
SUR-vul/ˈsɜːrvl/
Characteristic of someone held in servitude.
His servile posture is evident as he crouches to polish her shoe.
Etymology
The pieces mean “of a slave,” originally describing subordinate status or work. The meaning shifted to behavior judged slavish: fawning obedience or eagerness to please that suggests a lack of independence.
In context
others that of mean and servile flattery; others that of deceitful hypocrisy
More examples
- The law forces their children into the same servile condition.
- The novel contrasts the landowner's freedom with the workers' servile existence.
- He adopts a servile tone whenever his boss enters.
Forms
servile
servility noun — Excessive submission to another person's authority.
Similar words
- enslaved
- Specifies actual bondage rather than behavior resembling enforced submission.
- slavish
- Emphasizes unquestioning obedience or imitation rather than legal status.
- subservient
- Describes a subordinate position or excessive willingness to obey.