SUBSERVIENT


Meaning of SUBSERVIENT in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ -ənt ]

adjective

Etymology: Latin subservient-, subserviens, present participle of subservire

Date: circa 1626

1. : useful in an inferior capacity : subordinate

2. : serving to promote some end

3. : obsequiously submissive : truckling

• sub·ser·vi·ent·ly adverb

Synonyms:

subservient , servile , slavish , obsequious mean showing or characterized by extreme compliance or abject obedience. subservient implies the cringing manner of one very conscious of a subordinate position

domestic help was expected to be properly subservient

servile suggests the mean or fawning behavior of a slave

a political boss and his entourage of servile hangers-on

slavish suggests abject or debased servility

the slavish status of migrant farm workers

obsequious implies fawning or sycophantic compliance and exaggerated deference of manner

waiters who are obsequious in the presence of celebrities

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.