captivity
[ kap-tiv-i-tee ]
/ kæpˈtɪv ɪ ti /
noun, plural cap·tiv·i·ties.
the state or period of being held, imprisoned, enslaved, or confined.
(initial capital letter) Babylonian captivity.
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RELATED WORDS
bondage, imprisonment, slavery, incarceration, confinement, custody, enthrallment, duress, thralldom, constraint, restraint, jail, enslavement, entombment, servitude, limbo, serfdom, subjection, vassalage, committal
Nearby words
- captivate,
- captivating,
- captive,
- captive audience,
- captive market,
- captopril,
- captor,
- capture,
- capture beat,
- captured rotation
Origin of captivity
SYNONYMS FOR captivity
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for captivity
captivity
/ (kæpˈtɪvɪtɪ) /
noun plural -ties
the condition of being captive; imprisonment
the period of imprisonment
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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captivity
late 14c., Old French *captivite or directly from Latin captivitatem (nominative captivitas), from captivus (see captive (n.)). An Old English cognate word for it was gehæftnes (see haft).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper