1
a
: of or characteristic of someone held in forced servitude
especially
: basely or abjectly servile
b
archaic
: despicable, low
I have done with slavish fear of disaster.—
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë… in a sense it is infinitely reasonable …. But there is such a thing as a mean infinity, a base and slavish eternity.—G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton2
archaic
: oppressive, tyrannical
No minion of despotism ever ventured to advance more slavish doctrines …—George McDuffie
George McDuffie3
disapproving
: copying obsequiously or without originality : imitative
slavishly
adverb
slavishness
noun
Examples of slavish in a Sentence
a politician and his slavish followers
He has been criticized for his slavish devotion to the rules.
Recent Examples on the Web
People who climb upward by sacrificing their integrity to slavish subservience almost always fall on their faces eventually.
—Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025
The film’s slavish dedication to its source material — the challenging of which would open its own can of worms — demands ignoring all potential complexity in favor of didactic conclusions.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 19 June 2025
The Red Sox organization’s slavish devotion to analytics has a downside, Lynn said.
—Bill Speros, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025
Congressional oversight remains the primary check, but with Republicans controlling both chambers and illustrating a slavish devotion to Trump, impeachment is politically unrealistic regardless of legal merit.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for slavish
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Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025
The film’s slavish dedication to its source material — the challenging of which would open its own can of worms — demands ignoring all potential complexity in favor of didactic conclusions.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 19 June 2025
The Red Sox organization’s slavish devotion to analytics has a downside, Lynn said.
—Bill Speros, Boston Herald, 15 June 2025
Congressional oversight remains the primary check, but with Republicans controlling both chambers and illustrating a slavish devotion to Trump, impeachment is politically unrealistic regardless of legal merit.
—Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for slavish
Cite this Entry
“Slavish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slavish. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
slavish
adjective
slav·ish
ˈslā-vish 
1
: of or characteristic of someone held in forced servitude
2
: lacking in independence or originality
slavish imitators
slavishly
adverb
slavishness
noun
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