enslaver
noun
en·slav·er
in-ˈslā-vər 
en-
plural enslavers
1
: someone or something that forces one or more people into or as if into slavery
The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes …—
Frederick Douglass
Frederick DouglassThe opera's libretto depicts Columbus as hungry for gold and an enslaver of the Tainos …—Bill Kaufman
Bill Kaufman… writings and textbooks and pamphlets—some 100 years old—calling tobacco foul, poisonous, an enslaver of the mind and soul.—Matthew Ebner
Matthew Ebner2
: slaveholder
Six years after she was enslaved on Spanish Point, Prince's enslaver sold her again to another slaveholder …—Christopher Michael Blakley
Christopher Michael Blakley… the Fugitive Slave Act was a source of contention for communities in the North that were torn about whether to comply with returning former slaves to their enslavers.—Bethany Bump
Bethany BumpExamples of enslaver in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Their enslavers may be individuals, criminal rings or families, but big global companies are often complicit.
—Monti Datta, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025
On Hiring Day, enslavers in the U.S. tore families apart, trading individuals to form the strongest workforces for the upcoming year.
—Nyya Toussaint / Made By History, TIME, 31 Dec. 2024
The practice of slavery continued long after the abolition of the slave trade by France in 1818, with enslavers supported by the state for acts of astonishing, wanton violence.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 13 Dec. 2024
His family history shows how violence and rape in the era of chattel slavery can be felt over the generations, both for the family of the enslavers and for the enslaved.
—Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Jan. 2025
The shopkeepers, William Perry and Cephas Parker, in turn told Northup’s wife, Anne, and his attorney, Henry Bliss Northup, a relative of the former enslaver of Northup’s father.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2025
Slave fugitive Harriet Jacobs detailed that these annual abductions and the destruction of Black families caused some to resist being sold to new enslavers.
—Nyya Toussaint / Made By History, TIME, 31 Dec. 2024
To build houses, they were forced to lease land from the former enslavers who at a whim could terminate their employment or kick them off the land.
—Farah Nibbs, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024
What these founders knew about the weather ruled their daily paths as farmers, politicians and enslavers.
—Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025
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Monti Datta, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2025
On Hiring Day, enslavers in the U.S. tore families apart, trading individuals to form the strongest workforces for the upcoming year.
—Nyya Toussaint / Made By History, TIME, 31 Dec. 2024
The practice of slavery continued long after the abolition of the slave trade by France in 1818, with enslavers supported by the state for acts of astonishing, wanton violence.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 13 Dec. 2024
His family history shows how violence and rape in the era of chattel slavery can be felt over the generations, both for the family of the enslavers and for the enslaved.
—Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Jan. 2025
The shopkeepers, William Perry and Cephas Parker, in turn told Northup’s wife, Anne, and his attorney, Henry Bliss Northup, a relative of the former enslaver of Northup’s father.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Jan. 2025
Slave fugitive Harriet Jacobs detailed that these annual abductions and the destruction of Black families caused some to resist being sold to new enslavers.
—Nyya Toussaint / Made By History, TIME, 31 Dec. 2024
To build houses, they were forced to lease land from the former enslavers who at a whim could terminate their employment or kick them off the land.
—Farah Nibbs, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024
What these founders knew about the weather ruled their daily paths as farmers, politicians and enslavers.
—Sara Georgini, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2025
Dictionary Entries Near enslaver
Cite this Entry
“Enslaver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enslaver. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
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