Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Subservience |
SubservienceNoun1. The condition of being something that is useful in reaching an end or carrying out a plan; "all his actions were in subservience to the general plan". 2. In a subservient state. 3. Abject or cringing submissiveness. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "subservience" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1726. (references) |
Synonyms: SubservienceSynonyms: obsequiousness (n), servility (n), subservientness (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Instrumentality | Noun: instrumentality; aid; subservience, subserviency; mediation, intervention, medium, intermedium, vehicle, hand; agency. |
Tendency | Noun: tendency; aptness, aptitude; proneness, proclivity, bent, turn, tone, bias, set, leaning to, predisposition, inclination, propensity, susceptibility; conatus, nisus; liability; quality, nature, temperament; idiocrasy, idiosyncrasy; cast, vein, grain; humor, mood; drift; (direction); conduciveness, conducement; applicability; (utility); subservience; (instrumentality). |
Utility | Noun: utility; usefulness; Adjective: efficacy, efficiency, adequacy; service, use, stead, avail; help; (aid); applicability; Adjective: subservience; (instrumentality); function; (business); value; worth; (goodness); money's worth; productiveness; cui bono; (intention); utilization; (use) step in the right direction. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Subservience |
| English words defined with "subservience": Moloch ♦ Under one's thumb. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "subservience": INCOME. (references) |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | INCOME, n. The natural and rational gauge and measure of respectability, the commonly accepted standards being artificial, arbitrary and fallacious; for, as "Sir Sycophas Chrysolater" in the play has justly remarked, "the true use and function of property (in whatsoever it consisteth -- coins, or land, or houses, or merchant- stuff, or anything which may be named as holden of right to one's own subservience) as also of honors, titles, preferments and place, and all favor and acquaintance of persons of quality or ableness, are but to get money. Hence it followeth that all things are truly to be rated as of worth in measure of their serviceableness to that end; and their possessors should take rank in agreement thereto, neither the lord of an unproducing manor, howsoever broad and ancient, nor he who bears an unremunerate dignity, nor yet the pauper favorite of a king, being esteemed of level excellency with him whose riches are of daily accretion; and hardly should they whose wealth is barren claim and rightly take more honor than the poor and unworthy." |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Subservience" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Subservience" is used about 69 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 69 | 40,280 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Language | Translations for "subservience"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | servilizëm (assentation, cringe, obsequiousness, servility), përulje (cringe, debasement, humility, indignity, kotow, kowtow, mortification). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مزلة, تملق (adulate, blandish, blarney, butter, butter up, cajole, cajolery, coax, coaxing, compliment, con, court, cringe, curry favor with, curry favour with, fawn, flatter, flattery, incense, ingratiate oneself, insinuation, kowtow, lick his boots, make, mawkish, oiliness, palaver, servilism, soap, soft soap, suck up to, sweet talk, taffy, toady, wheedle), تذلل (cringe, cringing, draggle, droop, drooping, grovel, lick his boots, obsequiousness), عبودية (bondage, captivity, enslavement, obsequiousness, serfdom, servitude, slavery, subjection, thraldom, thrall, yoke), خنوع (meek, meekness, servile, servility, submission), إستعباد (enslavement, prostration, servitude, slavery, subjection, subjugation). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | съдействие (abetment, agency, collaboration, concurrence, contribution, co-operation, instrumentality, instrumentation, ministry, promotion), сервилност (compliance, servility), робуване. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | prostředek (instrument, instrumentality, means, medium, remedy). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | چاپلوسی (Blarney, Cajole, Flattery, Grease), کمک (Adjutant, Aid, Ancillary, Assist, Assistance, Avail, Hand, Help, Helper, Helpmeet, Mate, Relief, Second, Service, Succor, Support), تملق (Flattery), زیرزاوری . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | servilité, obséquiosité, caractère subalterne, asservissement. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Unterwürfigkeit (abjectness, obsequiousness, servility, slavishness, submissiveness, subserviency). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | υπηρετικότησ, υπηρετικότητα, υποταγή (allegiance, compliance, genuflection, homage, resignation, subjection, submission), δουλικότησ (slavishness), δουλικότητα (servility, slavishness), δουλοπρέπεια (obsequiousness, servileness, servility, slavishness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | "תרפסות (bootlicking, fawning, ingratiation, kowtow, obsequiousness, servility). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | támogatás (advocacy, aid, assistance, backing, countenance, encouragement, espousal, favor, help, lean, promotion, protection, sponsorship, subserviency, subsidization, support, sustain), szolgai engedelmesség (subserviency), kedvezés (favour, preference, preferment, subserviency), hasznosság (avail, expedience, expediency, subserviency, use, usefulness, utility), függés (dependence, dependency, subserviency, suspension), engedelmesség (amenability, duty, equipage, obedience, submission, submissiveness, subserviency), célszerűség (expedience, expediency, subserviency), behódolás (acquiescence, submission, subserviency), alárendeltség (subordination, subserviency). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | pengabdian (devotion, servitude). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 屈" (servile submission). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | くつじゅう (servile submission). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | ubserviencesay sujeição (acquiesce, bondage, calaboose, liability, obedience, prison, serfdom, servitude, subdual, subjugation, submission, subordination, thraldom, vassalage), subserviência (amenability, servility), servilismo (abjection, cringing, obsequiousness, servility, toadyism), utilidade (advantage, avail, availability, benefit, good, use, utility, value), préstimo. (various references) раболепие (cringing, kotow, kowtow, servility), полезность (availability, helpfulness, salutariness, usefulness, utility). (various references) poniznost (humbleness, humility, obsequiousness), pokornost (amenability, meekness, obedience, submissiveness), korisnost (usefulness, utility, wholesomeness). (various references) subordinación (dependence, dependency, subordination). (various references) underkastelse (subjection, submission). (various references) sırnaşma (advances, obtrusion), yaranma, itaat etme, hizmet etme. (various references) служіння, підкорення (conformation, conquest, subdual, subjection, subjugation, submission), підлабузництво (adulation, bag-play, captation). (various references) sự quỵ luỵ (cringe, kotow, kowtow, subserviency), sự phục vụ sự khúm núm (subserviency), sự giúp ích (helpfulness, subserviency). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | obsequi, obsequiis, obsequio, obsequium. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "subservience": subserviences. (additional references) | |
| |
"Subservience" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: subserviency, subserviens. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "subservience" (pronounced subser"vēuns) |
| 5 | -v ē u n s | deviance. |
| 4 | -ē u n s | ambiance, ambience, audience, dalliance, disobedience, expedience, experience, inexperience, invariance, obedience, prescience, radiance, resilience, transience, variance. |
| 3 | -u n s | abeyance, abhorrence, absence, abstinence, abundance, acceptance, accordance, acquaintance, acquiescence, adherence, admirations, admittance, adolescence, affluence, allegiance, alliance, allowance, ambivalence, ambulance, annoyance, appearance, appliance, arrogance, ascendance, assistance, assurance, attendance, avoidance, balance, belligerence, beneficence, benevolence, bioscience, brilliance, cadence, capacitance, chrominance, circumference, clairvoyance, Clarence, clearance, coexistence, cognizance, coherence, coincidence, coinsurance, comeuppance, competence, compliance, concurrence, condolence, conference, confidence, confluence, conformance, congruence, connivance, conscience, consequence, consistence, continuance, contrivance, convalescence, convenience, convergence, conveyance, correspondence, countenance, counterbalance, counterintelligence, credence, decadence, Defeasance, deference, defiance, deliverance, dependence, deterrence, difference, diligence, disallowance, disappearance, discontinuance, dissidence, dissonance, distance, disturbance, divergence, dominance, ebullience, elegance, eloquence, emergence, eminence, endurance, entrance, equivalence, essence, evanescence, evidence, excellence, existence, extravagance, exuberance, flamboyance, Florence, forbearance, fragrance, furtherance, governance, grievance, guidance, hindrance, ignorance, imbalance, immanence, imminence, impatience, impedance, importance, impotence, imprudence, inadvertence, incidence, incoherence, incompetence, incontinence, inconvenience, independence, indifference, inductance, indulgence, inference, influence, inheritance, innocence, insignificance, insistence, insolence, instance, insurance, intelligence, interdependence, interference, intolerance, intransigence, irrelevance, irreverence, issuance, jurisprudence, licence, license, luminance, luminescence, maintenance, malfeasance, negligence, neuroscience, noncompliance, noninterference, nonviolence, nuisance, observance, obsolescence, occurrence, omnipotence, omnipresence, opulence, ordinance, Ordnance, overabundance, overconfidence, overdependence, overreliance, parlance, patience, penance, performance, permanence, persecutions, perseverance, persistence, pestilence, petulance, phosphorescence, pittance, precedence, predominance, preeminence, preference, preponderance, presence, prevalence, prominence, protuberance, provenance, Providence, province, prudence, pseudoscience, quintessence, reappearance, reassurance, recalcitrance, recognizance, reconnaissance, recurrence, reemergence, reference, reinspections, reinsurance, relevance, reliance, reluctance, remembrance, reminiscence, remittance, repentance, resemblance, residence, resistance, resonance, resurgence, reticence, reverence, riddance, science, semblance, senescence, sentence, sequence, severance, significance, silence, submergence, subsidence, subsistence, substance, surveillance, sustenance, teleconference, temperance, tolerance, transcendence, transference, turbulence, unbalance, utterance, Valence, vehemence, vengeance, videoconference, vigilance, violence, virulence. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-c-e-e-e-i-n-r-s-s-u-v" | |
-2 letters: esuriences. | |
-3 letters: berceuses, bescreens, esurience, recessive, sceneries, sinecures, universes. | |
-4 letters: becurses, berceuse, bescreen, brucines, censures, cereuses, cursives, eeriness, enureses, enuresis, eserines, incurves, insecure, inverses, nereises, receives, revenues, scrieves, scurvies, services, sinecure, suberins, suberise, subserve, subvenes, universe, unreeves, veneries, versines. | |
-5 letters: becurse, brucine, brucins, bruises, burnies, censers, censure, cerises, ceruses, cervine, creeses, cruises, cursive, ensures. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-c-e-e-e-i-n-r-s-s-u-v" | |
+1 letter: subserviences. | |
+2 letters: subserviencies. | |
+5 letters: obstructivenesses. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Quotations: Non-fiction | 5. Usage Frequency 6. Translations: Modern 7. Translations: Ancient 8. Derivations | 9. Rhymes 10. Anagrams 11. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
