subservient.

1. Too ready to obey or accommodate another’s wishes, often at the expense of independence or dignity.

2. Functioning as a means or subordinate aid to something else.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a subservient manner
• subservient behavior

On the page

His subservient manner changed when the official left the room.

She refused the subservient role the family expected her to accept.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more subservient; superlative most subservient where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.