bondage

bond·age

noun \ˈbän-dij\

Definition of BONDAGE

1

: the tenure or service of a villein, serf, or slave

2

: a state of being bound usually by compulsion (as of law or mastery): as

a : captivity, serfdom

b : servitude or subjugation to a controlling person or force <young people in bondage to drugs>

3

: sadomasochistic sexual practices involving the physical restraint of one partner

Examples of BONDAGE

1. a population held in bondage
2. <the Civil War ended over 200 years of bondage for black Africans in America>

Origin of BONDAGE

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from bonde customary tenant, from Middle English

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to BONDAGE

Synonyms

slavery, enslavement, servility, servitude, thrall, thralldom (or thraldom), yoke

Antonyms

freedom, liberty

Related Words

peonage, serfdom; dependence (also dependance), subjection, subjugation; captivity, enchainment, imprisonment, incarceration

Near Antonyms

emancipation, enfranchisement, liberation, manumission; autonomy, independence, self-government, sovereignty (also sovranty)

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism