Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use servile in a sentence

11 example sentences · adjective, noun

Servile means excessively eager to please; obsequious. Example: “We know the slave by his servile character and the master by his herile character.”

Examples of servile by meaning

adjectiveSlavish or submissive.

  • servile flattery servile obedience

adjectiveNot belonging to the original root.

  • a servile letter

More sentences with servile

  • We know the slave by his servile character and the master by his herile character.From the entry herile
  • The choice of such non-entities in ostensibly important positions betrays their servile role.2016 July, Gerard Minuhin, Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil: Recognize the True Enemy and Join to Fight Him, 2nd edition, Uckfield…. From the entry non-entity
  • L'éternel recommencement, l'imitation servile des styles anciens empêchent toute conception originale.1903, Maurice Pillard Verneuil, Étude de la plante, page 2. From the entry recommencement
  • There were also services such as wainage, which may have been very onerous, but were not obligations of a servile character.1916, James Maclehose, The Scottish Historical Review - Volume 13, page 184. From the entry wainage
  • The authorities repeatedly emphasized that the kmet was not bound to his master, to counter allegations equating kmet tenure with servile status.1997, Michael Palairet, The Balkan Economies c. 1800-1914, Cambridge, published 2002, page 206. From the entry kmet
  • And the Dane let him kick away; his yellow teeth gleamed in a servile grin and then he clutched at the money.1927, Nordahl Grieg, The Ship Sails On, page 153. From the entry toe
  • The author is here proposing a nonblasphemous version of origination, a version that would be acceptable to a Christian Father-God who expects servile humility from his sons.1998, Jonathan Strauss, Subjects of terror: Nerval, Hegel, and the modern self. From the entry nonblasphemous
  • Wherefore, in these days, almost every secret manslaughter is punished as murdrum, except those of whom (as I have said) it is certain that they are of servile condition.1918, G.G. Coulton, Social Life in Britain, page 26. From the entry murdrum
  • The numerous small manors without servile tenants had no alternative but to hire labour and on many demesnes the supply of labour services was inadequate to the requirements of cultivation.2016, Bruce M[ortimer] S[tanley] Campbell, “Efflorescence: The Enabling Environment and the Rise of Latin Christendom”, in The Great…. From the entry glebe farm

Meaning of servile

  1. adjective Excessively eager to please; obsequious.
  2. adjective Slavish or submissive.
  3. adjective Of or pertaining to slaves or slavery.

Full definition of servile

Questions about servile in a sentence

How do you use servile in a sentence?
Servile is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “We know the slave by his servile character and the master by his herile character.”
What is a short sentence with servile?
“a servile letter”
What does servile mean?
Servile means excessively eager to please; obsequious.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: servile (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “How to use servile in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/servile. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.