Basic Details
Word: Slavery
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The system in which people are owned by others and forced to work without pay or freedom; the state of being a slave.
Synonyms: bondage, servitude, enslavement
Antonyms: freedom, liberty
How to Spell Slavery
Syllables: sla - ver - y
Tricky part: Slave keeps its e before ry, so slavary and slavry are wrong.
Watch out for: slavary, slavry, slaverey
Memory tip: Slave + ry works just like brave + ry: bravery and slavery both keep the e.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our history lesson today was about the end of slavery in the British Empire.
Example 2: Many brave people risked their lives to help others escape from slavery.
Example 3: Slavery is against the law in every country today, yet forced labour still exists.
Fun Fact
The British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, and the Indian Slavery Act of 1843 made the practice illegal in British India.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word slavery as used in the sentence:
Many chapters in our history book describe the long struggle against slavery.
a) freedom
b) captivity
c) bondage
d) servitude
Show answer
a) freedom. Bondage, servitude and captivity all describe being held; freedom is the opposite.
Word Makeup
Only one of these root words takes the suffix -ry to make a noun. Choose it:
ry
a) free
b) kind
c) slave
d) honest
Show answer
c) slave. Freedom, kindness and honesty are the nouns of the others; slave + ry gives slavery.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
Abraham Lincoln is remembered for his fight to end yrvelas in the United States.
a) savoury
b) bravery
c) slavery
d) silvery
Show answer
c) slavery. Silvery needs an i, savoury an o and a u, and bravery a b; slavery is the only fit.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A person held in slavery has no ____.
a) need for food or water
b) ability to speak a language
c) name or family at all
d) freedom to choose their work
Show answer
d) freedom to choose their work
2. A person who campaigned to end slavery was called ____.
a) an archaeologist
b) an economist
c) an abolitionist
d) a geologist
Show answer
c) an abolitionist
