as in humble
showing, expressing, or offered in a spirit of humility or unseemly submissiveness
every command was obeyed in the menial manner of someone who seemed grateful just to be in the presence of a celebrity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in servant
a person hired to perform household or personal services
immigrants to that country faced fierce prejudice and could expect to find work only as menials
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of menial
Charles Onyango-Obbo, semafor.com, 12 Jan. 2026
His father, a professional baker, would sometimes ask him to do menial tasks in the kitchen.
—Dawn Chan, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2023
An oceanographer served as winemaker, while Mr. Maltese was the group organizer and cellar rat, a wine-industry term for those performing menial but essential tasks like topping off barrels.
—Eric Asimov, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for menial
Adjective
As a result, young people have become an export commodity; over 317,000 Ugandans now labor in the Gulf, one of Africa’s highest rates of menial migration.
—Charles Onyango-Obbo, semafor.com, 12 Jan. 2026
His father, a professional baker, would sometimes ask him to do menial tasks in the kitchen.
—Dawn Chan, New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2025
Noun
Outside the windowless offices, the anthropocene was over—somehow these hapless menials had missed its bang or its whimper—and the pre-human food chain was busy reasserting itself.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2023
An oceanographer served as winemaker, while Mr. Maltese was the group organizer and cellar rat, a wine-industry term for those performing menial but essential tasks like topping off barrels.
—Eric Asimov, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023
See All Example Sentences for menial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for menial
Adjective
-
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with this, but outsourcing the writing to professionals only underscored the degree to which this humble document, once meant to blunt the puffery of the cover letter, had now become the leading weapon in the job seeker’s arsenal.—
Stephen Mihm,
Twin Cities,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Sporks have come a long way from their humble beginnings in Rhode Island, and as the traveler’s preferred eating utensil, they’re destined to go ever further.—
James Stout,
Outside,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The latter is less of a mother to Agnes than Rosa (Kira Guloien), one of the household’s many Marthas (put-upon domestic servants).—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Her house is immense and kept in immaculate condition by her family’s servants (the Marthas).—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That this man’s-man tough guy becomes utterly servile in the presence of a bunch of slack-casual bazillionaires is the cherry on top of the fascist sundae.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Julia was the first weekly TV series that starred a Black woman in a role that wasn't servile.—
Starr Rocque,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That included a meek loss in Toronto, with Murray not participating on the second night of a back-to-back following a blowout loss at Detroit.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The other, meek and mild-mannered.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Menial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/menial. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
