Word
thrall
US/ˈθɹɔɫ/
UK/θɹˈɔːl/
Definitions
01a person controlled by another
n. a person who is a slave or is completely controlled by someone else.
n. a person who is in bondage or under the absolute control of another.
“In the old story, the king treated every prisoner as a thrall.”
“The historical accounts describe the life of a thrall as one of relentless labour and total lack of legal standing.”
Archaic · Literary
Usage
Commonly used in historical or fantasy literature to describe a specific class of unfree person.
02the state of being controlled
n. the state of being under someone's power or being obsessed with something.
n. the state of being under the power or influence of another person or a powerful force.
“He was in the thrall of a powerful drug that changed his personality.”
“The entire nation seemed to be in the thrall of the charismatic leader, ignoring the obvious signs of corruption.”
Literary
Usage
Usually appears in the fixed phrase 'in the thrall of' followed by a noun phrase.
Antonyms
03to enslave
v. to make someone a slave or take away their freedom.
v. to reduce a person to the condition of a thrall; to enslave or captivate.
“The cruel ruler sought to thrall the neighbouring tribes.”
“The poem tells of a sorceress who could thrall any man with a single glance.”
Archaic · Literary
Usage
The modern verb 'enthrall' is much more common, though it now usually means to fascinate rather than to enslave.
Synonyms
04captive
adj. being held as a slave or prisoner.
adj. being in a state of servitude or captivity.
“The thrall soldiers were forced to fight for a cause they hated.”
“He remained thrall to his desires, unable to break free from the habits that ruined his career.”
Archaic · Literary
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“When Fate thundered back in to disrupt the finale, the quality of the silence in the pauses afterwards spoke volumes: this was an orchestra holding its audience in thrall.” “Iraola’s style has the capacity to hold Anfield in thrall; the aggression, the front-foot slickness, the boldness to go one-versus-one all over the pitch.” Etymology
From Middle English thral, thralle, threl, threlle, from Old English þrǣl (“thrall, slave, servant”), from Old Norse þræll (“slave”), from Proto-Germanic þrahilaz, þragilaz, þrigilaz (“runner, gofer, servant”), from Proto-Indo-European tregʰ- (“to pull, drag, race, run”), possibly a variant of *dʰregʰ- (“to run”); related to Gothic 𐌸𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (þragjan), Old English þrǣġan (“to run”).
From Middle English thrallen, from the noun above. Compare Old Norse þræla.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/thrall