enslaved
/ɪnˈsleɪv/ (bre, ipa) · [ɛnslˈevd] /ɪnˈsleɪv/ (ame, ipa)
enslaved — verb
- enslavedpresent simple I / you / we / they
- enslaveds3rd person singular
- enslaveding-ing form
- enslavededpast simple
1. To trap someone in harmful conditions that they cannot easily escape.
To trap someone in harmful conditions that they cannot easily escape.
Low wages enslaved many workers to jobs they hated.
enslave + object + to + harsh condition
Heavy debt enslaved the family to one payment after another.
Poor reading skills enslaved adults to unfair contracts and false promises.
The landlord's threats enslaved tenants in unsafe rooms for years.
文法句型
enslave + object + to + condition
用法筆記
Usually has a system, debt, threat, or social condition as the subject. Unlike sense 2, it does not mean literally making someone a slave; unlike sense 3, it focuses on being trapped in harsh circumstances.
2. To take away a person's freedom and make that person live and work as property.
To take away a person's freedom and make that person live and work as property.
Invading soldiers enslaved villagers and sent them to distant mines.
enslave + group of people
The raiders enslaved hundreds of children after burning the river town.
Some empires enslaved prisoners of war and sold them abroad.
Captured sailors were enslaved and forced to row the ships.
文法句型
enslave + object
be enslaved + and + past participle
用法筆記
Used for literal enslavement in historical, legal, and human-rights contexts. The object is a person or group whose liberty is taken away.
常見錯誤
3. To rule a person's mind, feelings, or daily choices so fully that freedom is los
To rule a person's mind, feelings, or daily choices so fully that freedom is lost.
For years, fear enslaved Omar and kept him from speaking in class.
figurative: emotion enslaved someone
Jealousy enslaved Rosa's thoughts and poisoned every family dinner.
The cult's rules enslaved members and cut them off from family.
The craving for quick wins enslaved Caleb and emptied his savings.
文法句型
enslave + object
be enslaved by + emotion or idea
用法筆記
Common in figurative writing about fear, jealousy, addiction, or ideology. It stresses inner control over thoughts or feelings more than the external hardship in sense 1.
常見錯誤
enslaved — adjective
- enslavedpositive
- more enslavedcomparative
- most enslavedsuperlative
1. Kept under violent control and made to labour for nothing, without freedom to le
Kept under violent control and made to labour for nothing, without freedom to leave.
The memorial lists the names of enslaved people sold at the port.
collocation: enslaved people
An enslaved cook secretly taught the children to read at night.
The novel follows an enslaved man planning his escape across the swamp.
The museum returned jewelry taken from enslaved families generations ago.
- subjugated
Broader term for being brought under power; it does not always include forced labour
- oppressed
Focuses on cruel treatment, not necessarily ownership
- captive
Means not free to leave, but does not automatically imply slavery
用法筆記
Most often modifies nouns like people, man, woman, worker, or family. In present-day historical writing, 'enslaved person' is often preferred to 'slave' because it highlights a condition imposed on someone.
2. Connected to slavery, or to the lives and labour of people held in slavery.
Connected to slavery, or to the lives and labour of people held in slavery.
The display explains how enslaved labor worked on Caribbean plantations.
attributive: enslaved labor
Workers found an enslaved burial ground behind the old mansion.
The archive keeps enslaved family records from two rice farms.
The book compares enslaved housing styles across the coastal South.
文法句型
enslaved + labor or housing noun
用法筆記
Used before non-human nouns such as labor, housing, records, or burial ground to describe things connected with slavery or with enslaved people, not the people themselves.