enslaver
noun
en·slav·er
in-ˈslā-vər 
en-
plural enslavers
1
: someone or something that forces one or more people into or as if into slavery
The more I read, the more I was led to abhor and detest my enslavers. I could regard them in no other light than a band of successful robbers, who had left their homes, and gone to Africa, and stolen us from our homes …—
Frederick Douglass
Frederick DouglassThe opera's libretto depicts Columbus as hungry for gold and an enslaver of the Tainos …—Bill Kaufman
Bill Kaufman… writings and textbooks and pamphlets—some 100 years old—calling tobacco foul, poisonous, an enslaver of the mind and soul.—Matthew Ebner
Matthew Ebner2
: slaveholder
Six years after she was enslaved on Spanish Point, Prince's enslaver sold her again to another slaveholder …—Christopher Michael Blakley
Christopher Michael Blakley… the Fugitive Slave Act was a source of contention for communities in the North that were torn about whether to comply with returning former slaves to their enslavers.—Bethany Bump
Bethany BumpExamples of enslaver in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ripley became known by enslavers as the place enslaved people went to disappear.
—TIME, 2 Dec. 2024
Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium basketball arena is in no way connected to the enslavers, but the family was trustees and donors to the nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where a road on campus remains shamefully named after them.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Several Austin place names have been called into question because their namesakes were racists, enslavers or instigators of ethnic cleansing.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 3 Sep. 2024
His youngest daughter, Julia, married a physician and enslaver named Luke P. Blackburn.
—TIME, 4 May 2024
In 1863, the U.S. government was paying enslavers like Campbell up to $300 for each man allowed to enlist.
—Mary Ann Ashcraft, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2024
These houses are tiny and were constructed in a way in which they could be easily taken apart and loaded onto carts, should the residents be forced out by their former enslavers.
—Farah Nibbs, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024
In January 1864, Smalls returned to his hometown and used the money he’d been awarded for turning over the Planter to buy his enslaver’s mansion.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
Many other freedmen on the South Carolina Sea Islands refused to work for their former enslavers.
—Essence, 18 June 2024
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TIME, 2 Dec. 2024
Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium basketball arena is in no way connected to the enslavers, but the family was trustees and donors to the nearby University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where a road on campus remains shamefully named after them.
—Chadd Scott, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Several Austin place names have been called into question because their namesakes were racists, enslavers or instigators of ethnic cleansing.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 3 Sep. 2024
His youngest daughter, Julia, married a physician and enslaver named Luke P. Blackburn.
—TIME, 4 May 2024
In 1863, the U.S. government was paying enslavers like Campbell up to $300 for each man allowed to enlist.
—Mary Ann Ashcraft, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2024
These houses are tiny and were constructed in a way in which they could be easily taken apart and loaded onto carts, should the residents be forced out by their former enslavers.
—Farah Nibbs, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024
In January 1864, Smalls returned to his hometown and used the money he’d been awarded for turning over the Planter to buy his enslaver’s mansion.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Oct. 2024
Many other freedmen on the South Carolina Sea Islands refused to work for their former enslavers.
—Essence, 18 June 2024
Dictionary Entries Near enslaver
Cite this Entry
“Enslaver.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enslaver. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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