as in serfdom
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Recent Examples of peonage
The Wilberforce Act covers physical abuse and peonage, which is forced labor.
—
Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 6 June 2024
Many drivers stick around for the full year to avoid those fees, enduring what amounts to debt peonage.
—Andrew Kay, WIRED, 17 Jan. 2023
Redemptionists stymied Black progress toward economic independence through sharecropping and a debt peonage system that encumbered Black farmers with overwhelming financial burdens.
—Time, 15 Sep. 2022
For many years, prosecutions based on alleged violations of the 13th Amendment — passed in 1865 to outlaw slavery and involuntary servitude — focused on peonage cases, the use of financial debt as a loophole to enslave workers.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for peonage
Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 6 June 2024
Many drivers stick around for the full year to avoid those fees, enduring what amounts to debt peonage.
—Andrew Kay, WIRED, 17 Jan. 2023
Redemptionists stymied Black progress toward economic independence through sharecropping and a debt peonage system that encumbered Black farmers with overwhelming financial burdens.
—Time, 15 Sep. 2022
For many years, prosecutions based on alleged violations of the 13th Amendment — passed in 1865 to outlaw slavery and involuntary servitude — focused on peonage cases, the use of financial debt as a loophole to enslave workers.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for peonage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for peonage
Noun
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Their desire for freedom was at the same time a denunciation of serfdom.—
Michael Bruening,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
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The peasants’ goal was to overturn serfdom and create a fairer society grounded on the Christian Bible.—
Michael Bruening,
The Conversation,
25 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Many women left the punitive existence of domestic servitude and escaped to the booming city by the sea.—
Claire Hoffman,
Rolling Stone,
20 Apr. 2025
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The people are crying out for relief from medical servitude and the Trump administration keeps doubling down on the oppression.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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States gained additional representation in Congress and in the Electoral College, thereby entrenching slavery in the national political framework.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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By Scott Spillman The book is less about slavery than about how Americans have thought, written, and wrestled with it for more than 200 years.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The court declared that this man was free and could not be held in bondage.—
Ari Daniel,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 Apr. 2025
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Reverend Back says Easter is the oldest of Christian celebrations, Jesus’s tradition of Passover, according to Hebrews — from bondage into freedom and for Christians — from death into life.—
Gina Grillo,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Details include smooth gold hardware, western yoke accents and floral embroidery.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
22 Apr. 2025
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From its Western yoke stitching to its pearl snaps, every little detail in this shirt was designed for a fashionable look that doesn’t stand out too much for daily wear.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Peonage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/peonage. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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