enslavement
Americannoun
-
the act of taking or holding someone as a slave.
Until his death, Bartolomé de las Casas worked to prevent the enslavement of the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean.
-
the state or condition of being held in slavery.
During their enslavement, African Americans were prevented from learning to read or write.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of enslavement
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.
His “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite”—a potent suite with lyrics about black history, from enslavement through emancipation—arrived during the civil-rights movement.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
Critics have also voiced concern about the classification of African enslavement as "the gravest crime against humanity".
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Now Mexico became a land of possible refuge for people fleeing enslavement in Texas or nearby places such as Louisiana.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2026
At the Legacy Museum, visitors experience 400 years of American history that includes enslavement, racial terrorism, and mass incarceration.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025
The enslavement of Africans for labor in the Americas is one example.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
