slavish

Name: slavish, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈsleɪvɪʃ/

//ˈsleɪvɪʃ// adj

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“slavish” is an uncommon English word, ranked #76,343 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#76,343
frequency rank, English: 7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In the manner of a slave; abject.

Key facts for slavish
Property	Value
Headword	slavish
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/ˈsleɪvɪʃ/
Letters	7
Frequency rank	#76,343
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “slavish” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). slavish lands here:

#76,343

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for slavish is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsleɪvɪʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #76,343 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for slavish, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From slave + -ish. The correct English form is slavish, spelled S-L-A-V-I-S-H.

Definition

1
In the manner of a slave; abject.
2
Utterly faithful; totally lacking originality, creativity, or reflection.

Etymology

From slave + -ish.

This word in other languages

servil(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "slavish"?

"slavish" is spelled S-L-A-V-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsleɪvɪʃ/.

What does "slavish" mean?

As an adjective, "slavish" means: In the manner of a slave; abject.

How do you pronounce "slavish"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slavish" is /ˈsleɪvɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "slavish"?

From slave + -ish. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “slavish”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is S-L-A-V-I-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈsleɪvɪʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.