CAPTIVITY Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

captivity

noun

kap-ˈti-və-tē

Definition of captivity

as in internment

the act of confining or the state of being confined the wildlife refuge raises endangered species in captivity and then releases them into the wild

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of captivity By 1987, the last free-flying condor had been brought into captivity, and an intensive captive breeding program was underway. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 During captivity, the animals get their vaccine shots for the plague and canine distemper, which grants them lifelong immunity. — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Conlon wrote a book about another 1983 kidnapping, this one human, a supermarket executive rescued in the woods here after 23 days in IRA captivity and Conlon says Shergar's captors would have found a soft landing in Leitrim. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026 Israel robs children of their smallest joys because joy is the seed of hope, and that is how the body learns that captivity is not the natural condition of life. — Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for captivity

Recent Examples of Synonyms for captivity

Noun

Adding to the dark absurdity of the situation was the fact that Seghers’s husband, the Hungarian Marxist scholar László Radványi, was being held in a French internment camp, on the basis that Hungary was a German ally.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
At the exhibition’s press opening, curator Cindy Kang talked about trying to dispel the idea that internment was an isolated incident that these artists then moved on from.

— Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of internment

Noun

According to the church, Wang's family has been permitted fewer than five visits during nearly eight years of imprisonment.

— Mitch Picasso, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
For some, the potential release of thousands of prisoners doesn’t go far enough to repair the damage of their prolonged imprisonment.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of imprisonment

Noun

Those with misdemeanors can vote or if the person has an unsentenced status with no prior felony conviction unless voting rights have been restored following the release from incarceration for the felony conviction.

— Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 18 Oct. 2026
The first half of Fielder and Oppenheim’s film chronicles the 34 days leading up to the incarceration of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the blood-testing technology company Theranos.

— Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of incarceration

Noun

As such, it could be easily exported to describe Jewish quarters elsewhere—and eventually adapted to describe sites of confinement or exclusion the world over.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
In the 1925 novel, the appearance of fledglings symbolizes freedom, confinement and even spiritual rebirth, themes that follow lead characters Clarissa and Sally (whom Edebiri portrays) as the story unfolds.

— Bianca Betancourt, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of confinement

Noun

The 911 call recordings, as reported by the Associated Press, showed that first responders and prison officials did not know whether a request for emergency help from within the execution chamber was legitimate.

— David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
Eady-Williams sentenced Pham and Salerno to life in prison without possibility of parole for the murder charges.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of prison

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captivities

captivity

captor

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“Captivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captivity. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of captivity

noun

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