subservient

UK/səb'sɜːvɪənt/US/sәb'sә:viәnt/

Definitions

adj.

Too willing to obey others; excessively submissive

屈从的；唯命是从的

adj.

Less important than something else; serving as a means to an end

从属的；次要的（subservient to）

Root Breakdown

Root-derived

sub-under, below

servserve; keep, guard, watch over

-ientperforming, being in a state

=subservient

sub- ('under') + serv (serve) + -ient = serving from underneath. Two senses follow: a person kept beneath another (excessively obedient), and a thing kept beneath a goal (made secondary to it). Picture someone always below, always serving the one above.

Root serv still carries 62 more words

Common Collocations

1.subservient role从属角色
2.subservient to屈从于、从属于
3.completely subservient完全屈从

Example Sentences

1.
She resented being treated as subservient to her male colleagues.
2.
In that company, ethics were always subservient to profit.
3.
He played a quiet, subservient role throughout the negotiations.

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