thrall

[ thrawl ]

noun

1. a person who is morally or mentally enslaved by some power, influence, or the like:

   He was the thrall of morbid fantasies.

2. a person held in bondage or slavery.
3. slavery; thralldom.
4. the condition of being in the power of something or someone; a state of subjugation or rapt absorption:

   We will receive no help from the media, who are for the most part in thrall to the political establishment.

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to put or hold in thralldom; enslave.

adjective

1. Archaic. subjected to bondage; enslaved.

thrall

/ θrɔːl /

noun

1. Also calledthraldomUSthralldomˈθrɔːldəm the state or condition of being in the power of another person
2. a person who is in such a state
3. a person totally subject to some need, desire, appetite, etc

verb

1. tr to enslave or dominate

Other Words From

• un·thralled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of thrall¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English thral, thral(l)e, threl(l)e, Old English thrǣl “bondman, slave, servant, thrall,” from Old Norse thrǣll “slave, servant”

Word History and Origins

Origin of thrall¹

Old English thrǣl slave, from Old Norse thrǣll

Example Sentences

It is more compelling than ever and will have the watching world in its thrall all over again on Friday.

From BBC

Ashbourne is also in thrall to her character, who has a tough exterior but a lust for life - and leopard print.

From BBC

And I think we shouldn't give up on the people in our lives who have fallen into the thrall of this kind of thinking.

From Salon

And her political career is therefore over — or at least it is so long as the GOP remains in thrall to Trump.

From Los Angeles Times

On the Friday before the experience opened to the public, a gaggle of children gathered in wordless thrall to witness a maintenance worker repairing an engine overhead.

From Los Angeles Times