as in slave
a person in the past who belonged to a low social class and who lived and worked on land owned by another person
Medieval serfs who tended land owned by a lord.
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for serf
Noun
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My maternal grandfather, Frederick Douglas Fisher—both of his parents were slaves.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026 -
The uniforms originally featured Toussaint Louverture, the former slave who led a revolution that created the world’s first Black republic in 1804, astride a red horse.—
Stefanie Dazio,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That made kid gloves the perfect choice for a servant handling fine silverware, where even a fingerprint could spoil the dinner presentation.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
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Making the Fed the servant of the White House would hobble one of the few institutions capable of limiting the overreach of a power-mad president.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
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“Serf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serf. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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