slavish
adjective
Simple meaning
Utterly faithful; totally lacking originality, creativity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
slayvishSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsleɪvɪʃ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Utterly faithful; totally lacking originality, creativity, or reflection.
In the manner of a slave; abject.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Utterly faithful; totally lacking originality, creativity, or reflection.
Used this way, slavish is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It turns up most in ethics or values and relationships contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Loyal and dependable
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
- Relationships
Nearby words
- unoriginal , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: utterly faithful
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “slavish” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.