Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The state of being in the power of another person or under the sway of an influence.
- noun One, such as a slave or serf, who is held in bondage.
- noun One who is in the power of another or under the sway of an influence.
- transitive verb To enslave.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To deprive of liberty; enslave.
- Figuratively, to put in subjection to some power or influence; enthrall.
- noun A slave; a serf; a bondman; a captive.
- noun One who is a slave to some desire, appetite, spell, or other influence; one who is in moral bondage.
- noun Thraldom, literal or figurative; bondage; slavery; subjection.
- noun A shelf or stand; a stand for barrels.
- Enslaved; bond; subjugated.
- Figuratively, subject; enthralled.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective obsolete Of or pertaining to a thrall; in the condition of a thrall; bond; enslaved.
- noun A slave; a bondman.
- noun Slavery; bondage; servitude; thraldom.
- noun Prov. Eng. A shelf; a stand for barrels, etc.
- transitive verb Obs. or Poetic To enslave.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun One who is
enslaved or mind-controlled. - noun uncountable The state of being under the
control of another person. - verb To make a thrall.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun someone held in bondage
- noun the state of being under the control of another person
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Funds to finance these huge war loans was borrowed from China and Japan, putting America ever deeper in thrall to the Asian powers, and undermining its finances.
Eric Margolis: Attention All Republican Flag-Wavers -- If You Want Wars Abroad, Pay for Them Eric Margolis 2010
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The NSO players are plainly in thrall to Eschenbach, whose qualities are diametrically opposed to his predecessor, Leonard Slatkin.
Eschenbach, Tetzlaff, Bruckner: The fresh and less familiar faces of the NSO Robert Battey 2010
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But at this point they are discovering that they are just as much in thrall as the centrists to paymasters uninterested in universal coverage.
Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Negotiating Against Themselves 2010
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It's heartening to know that not all Mexicans are in thrall to the mighty Christmas tree and still put up nacimientos in their homes!
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The truth is that Britain's economic policymakers are as in thrall to bankers as their 1970s forerunners were to trade unionists.
Pleading with banks won't do. Osborne needs a plan B Simon Jenkins 2010
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You are either a stupid troll in thrall to the screechmonkeys that do your thinking for you and knowing you are too stupid to even TRY to discuss the topic or you are a mental patient who needs to increase your meds.
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I am on the left and in thrall to Karl Marx, Gul tells Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror.
Pakistan cricketer calls on Marxist in case for the defence Giles Richards 2010
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The other survivor is a bombastic general from the other clan, in thrall to military glory, in love with death.
Little Big Soldier Philip French 2010
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You are either a stupid troll in thrall to the screechmonkeys that do your thinking for you and knowing you are too stupid to even TRY to discuss the topic or you are a mental patient who needs to increase your meds.
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It's heartening to know that not all Mexicans are in thrall to the mighty Christmas tree and still put up nacimientos in their homes!
chained_bear commented on the word thrall
From the OED online:
One who is in bondage to a lord or master; a villein, serf, bondman, slave; also, in vaguer use, a servant, subject; transf. one whose liberty is forfeit; a captive, prisoner of war.
Usage: c950 Lindisfarne Gospels, Mark x. 44 "And sua huæ see wælle in iuh formest wosa bie allra ræl." 991 Laws of Æthelred II. c. 5 §1 "yf Englisc man Deniscne ræl ofslea, ylde hine mid punde."
Wow.
March 7, 2007
100000232338334 commented on the word thrall
He might be in sexual thrall to Isabel, he might even love her and the danger she represented, but I didn't think his heart and mind were wholly committed to her. -Charlaine Harris, Living Dead in Dallas
December 11, 2010
jwjarvis commented on the word thrall
its penetrating ammonia scent held us in thrall
August 25, 2011