captivity
Americannoun
-
the state or period of being held, imprisoned, enslaved, or confined.
- Synonyms:
- incarceration, confinement, imprisonment, subjection, thralldom, slavery, servitude, bondage
- Antonyms:
- freedom
-
(initial capital letter) Babylonian captivity.
noun
-
the condition of being captive; imprisonment
-
the period of imprisonment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of captivity
1275–1325; Middle English captivite (< Old French ) < Latin captīvitās. See captive, -ity
Explanation
Captivity is the condition of being trapped or confined. Animals that are kept in zoos are in captivity. A prisoner is in captivity, and a kidnapping victim is also in captivity. If you catch a firefly and keep it in a jar, its life will be one of captivity until you let it go. When you're imprisoned or enslaved, you're captive. Both words come from a Latin source, captivus, "caught" or "taken prisoner," from the root capere, "to take, hold, or seize."
Vocabulary lists containing captivity
Charlotte's Web
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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"Wild Animals Aren't Pets" and "Let People Own Exotic Animals"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As an adult running a “high-risk” Christian ministry, Marx says he rescued 45,000 women and children from captivity and abuse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Originating from Greece and other countries, most were dancing bears in captivity, or animals that lived in zoos.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Researchers cannot yet determine whether the animals were tame, kept in captivity, or managed in some other way.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
On Saturday, the state government announced that the Maj Gen Abubakar had died in captivity.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
He named it Red, and Red soon settled down, apparently content to share his friend’s captivity.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
What ensues is a dialogue wherein the djinn explains his various loves and captivities to Alithea, who listens enraptured with her wet hair wrapped in a towel.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 24, 2022
Language fails to describe them on their return from the most cruel of captivities.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 20, No. 118, August, 1867 by Various
The palisaded meeting-house square, the fortified isolated garrison houses, the massacres and captivities are familiar features of New England's history.
From The Frontier in American History by Turner, Frederick Jackson
Organisation and government protection saved the Ohio Associators from such experiments of colonisation as had frequently led to Indian captivities and abandoned settlements in Tennessee and Kentucky.
From The United States of America, Part 1 by Sparks, Edwin Erle
The following pages aim to present a faithful picture of this singular man, in his wanderings, captivities, and escapes.
From The First White Man of the West Life and Exploits of Col. Dan'l. Boone, the First Settler of Kentucky; Interspersed with Incidents in the Early Annals of the Country. by Flint, Timothy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
