conscription

noun

con·​scrip·​tion kən-ˈskrip-shən 

: compulsory enrollment of persons especially for military service : draft

During the war the armed forces were heavily dependent on conscription.

Did you know?

With its scrip- root, conscription means basically writing someone's name on a list—a list that, unfortunately, a lot of people usually don't want to be on. Conscription has existed at least since ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom (27th century B.C.), though universal conscription has been rare throughout history. Forms of conscription were used by Prussia, Switzerland, Russia, and other European powers in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the U.S., conscription was first applied during the Civil War, by both the North and the South. In the North there were pockets of resistance, and the draft led to riots in several cities. The U.S. abandoned conscription at the end of the war and didn't revive it until World War I.

Examples of conscription in a Sentence

young people who face conscription into the army

Recent Examples on the Web

On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed new measures into law that are intended to boost army ranks through a mix of conscription incentives and penalties for draft dodgers. —Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Apr. 2024

And to address its depleted ranks, Ukraine’s parliament passed a new law to expand military conscription this week. —Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 12 Apr. 2024

But many are already serving in the military, living in occupied areas or outside Ukraine, or have jobs or disabilities that exempt them from conscription. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 4 Apr. 2024

In 1998, the Supreme Court ripped up the longstanding exemption, telling the government that allowing Haredim to get out of conscription violated equal protection principles. —Mick Krever, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024

Such aggressive conscription would also be politically unpopular for the president, though military commanders say the need for it is elementary. —David L. Stern, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024

Many point to mandatory conscription as an example. —Se Eun Gong, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024

Lowering the conscription age, which had been 27, was the most significant measure in a mobilization draft bill that has already seen thousands of amendments in parliament since the start of this year. —Isabelle Khurshudyan, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024

Today was the first day the ruling was in effect, freezing funds for students of conscription age who have not been given military service deferrals. —NBC News, 2 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see conscript entry 1

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above