EN

Synonyms for vassal

25 synonyms
1 antonym
2 meanings

noun

Most common

slave servant thrall serf liege feudatory

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Slave — any direct subordinate bound by such vows to a superior

slave, servant, thrall, serf, bondsman, lackey, stooge, dependent US, dependant UK, subject, retainer, minion, creature, satellite, puny, hanger-on, myrmidon, villein, bondman, helot, subordinate, underling, henchman

2. Liege

liege, feudatory

Antonyms

All antonyms of vassal →

Definitions

n. 1
Any direct subordinate bound by such vows to a superior.
The king ordered his vassals to join him on the crusade unless they had a written note signed by the archbishop or pope.
n. 2
The grantee of a fief, a subordinate granted use of a superior's land and its income in exchange for vows of fidelity and homage and (typically) military service.

Related words

Word family: vassalage vassaldom vassal-in-chief

Forms

Plural: vassals → slaves, servants, thralls, serfs…

Example sentences

slave Marriage is slavery. I'd prefer not to be a slave.
servant A small regent is worth more than a large servant.
thrall The populace was in thrall to the dictator's whims.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
vassal		steady
slave		rising
servant		rising
thrall		rising
serf		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: puny², serf¹
5 letters: slave¹, liege¹, helot²
6 letters: minion², lackey², thrall¹, stooge¹
7 letters: subject², servant², villein, bondman
8 letters: creature², retainer³, henchman², bondsman, myrmidon³
9 letters: dependent³, satellite³, dependant, underling³, feudatory
11 letters: subordinate⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (puny² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: vassal
Español: vasallo
Deutsch: Vasall