| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024ser•vile /ˈsɜrvɪl, -vaɪl/USA pronunciation adj. - obeying like a slave:the dictator's servile flatterers.
- of or relating to slaves, slavery, servants, or servitude.
ser•vil•i•ty /sərˈvɪlɪti/USA pronunciation n. [uncountable]See -serv-1. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024ser•vile (sûr′vil, -vīl),USA pronunciation adj. - slavishly submissive or obsequious;
fawning:servile flatterers. - characteristic of, proper to, or customary for slaves;
abject:servile obedience. - yielding slavishly;
truckling (usually fol. by to). - extremely imitative, esp. in the arts;
lacking in originality. - being in slavery;
oppressed. - of, pertaining to, or involving slaves or servants.
- of or pertaining to a condition of servitude or property ownership in which a person is held as a slave or as partially enslaved:medieval rebellions against servile laws.
- Latin servīlis, equivalent. to serv- (stem of servīre to be a slave) + -īlis -ile
- Middle English 1350–1400
- 1, 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged cringing, sycophantic. Servile, menial, obsequious, slavish characterize one who behaves like a slave or an inferior. Servile suggests cringing, fawning, and abject submission:servile responses to questions.Menial applies to that which is considered undesirable drudgery:the most menial tasks.Obsequious implies the ostentatious subordination of oneself to the wishes of another, either from fear or from hope of gain:an obsequious waiter.Slavish stresses the dependence and labori-ous toil of one who follows or obeys without question:slavish attentiveness to orders.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged mean, base, low.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged aggressive.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged exalted.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: servile /ˈsɜːvaɪl/ adj - obsequious or fawning in attitude or behaviour; submissive
- of or suitable for a slave
- existing in or relating to a state of slavery
- when postpositive, followed by to: submitting or obedient
Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin servīlis, from servus slaveservility /sɜːˈvɪlɪtɪ/ n |