captivity

[kap-tiv-i-tee]

noun

plural

captivities 

1. the state or period of being held, imprisoned, enslaved, or confined.

   Synonyms: incarceration, confinement, imprisonment, subjection, thralldom, slavery, servitude, bondage
   Antonyms: freedom

2. (initial capital letter),  Babylonian captivity.

captivity

/ kæpˈtɪvɪtɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being captive; imprisonment

2. the period of imprisonment

Other Word Forms

• precaptivity noun
• semicaptivity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of captivity¹

1275–1325; Middle English captivite (< Old French ) < Latin captīvitās. See captive, -ity

Example Sentences

"It's impossible to forget even a single moment of my captivity," the 53-year-old Israeli former hostage told AFP in an interview on Monday.

Read more on Barron's

Hamas also returned the bodies of 12 other hostages who died in captivity, and said it was still searching for the remains of 16 others.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Organised by Freedom For Animals with support from Born Free and The Express newspaper, between 250 and 300 people protested against the captivity of 15 gentoo penguins at the riverside attraction in Westminster.

Read more on BBC

She said she had been held with other women and children inside houses during her captivity, "while Avinatan was only in the tunnels".

Read more on BBC

The Israeli military said he was “murdered in captivity,” without providing further information or their forensic analysis of the body, which on Tuesday was on its way to Nepal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bondage 
• confinement 
• custody 
• imprisonment 
• incarceration 
• slavery