slavish

[ sley-vish ]

adjective

1. of or befitting a slave:

   slavish subjection.

2. being or resembling a slave; abjectly submissive:

   He was slavish in his obedience.

   Synonyms: sycophantic

   Antonyms: independent

3. base; mean; ignoble:

   slavish fears.

   Antonyms: exalted

4. deliberately imitative; lacking originality:

   a slavish reproduction.

slavish

/ ˈsleɪvɪʃ /

adjective

1. of or befitting a slave
2. being or resembling a slave; servile
3. unoriginal; imitative
4. archaic.
   ignoble

Derived Forms

• ˈslavishness, noun
• ˈslavishly, adverb

Other Words From

• slavish·ly adverb
• slavish·ness noun
• over·slavish adjective
• over·slavish·ly adverb
• over·slavish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of slavish¹

First recorded in 1555–65; slave + -ish ¹

Synonym Study

See servile.

Example Sentences

Their manifesto urged people to “hang up on the pollsters who are polluting our political environment by dominating media coverage, influencing election outcomes, and turning our political leaders into slavish poll followers.”

From Los Angeles Times

While I like the movies a lot, I don’t have a slavish devotion to them.

From Los Angeles Times

As everyone knows, Donald Trump admires Vladimir Putin, and so a large portion of the Republican Party admires Putin in an imitative and slavish manner.

From Salon

De Palma’s slavish emulation of Hitchcock runs through numerous films, and with notable specificity.

From Los Angeles Times

While I like the moves a lot, I don’t have a slavish devotion to them.

From Los Angeles Times