enslaver
/in-ˈslā-vər en-/ (ame, mw)
enslaver — noun
1. a person, group, or institution that forces people to live as slaves or keeps th
a person, group, or institution that forces people to live as slaves or keeps them in a condition where they have no freedom
The plantation owners were the enslavers who kept hundreds of people in bondage for generations.
often used in plural for historical contexts
After the rebellion, the island's enslavers tightened their control and punished escape attempts.
Kehinde traced her family tree to the enslaver who bought her ancestors in West Africa.
The court ruled that the factory owners were modern enslavers who made migrants work without pay.
- slaveholder
more neutral, focuses on the legal right to own slaves rather than the act of enslaving
- slave owner
similar to slaveholder; more common in older historical texts
- oppressor
broader term for anyone who uses power unjustly, not limited to slavery
- liberator
someone who frees people from bondage or oppression
- emancipator
someone who legally frees slaves, often used for historical figures
文法句型
the + enslaver(s)
enslaver of + noun
用法筆記
Frequently used in historical writing about transatlantic slavery and other systems of bondage. Increasingly preferred over 'slave owner' in contemporary scholarship because it emphasises the active process of enslaving rather than the static idea of possession. Can be extended metaphorically to oppressive institutions or systems, but this carries very strong connotations and should be used with care.