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

The Haredim, unlike more secular Jews, have been exempt from military conscription, receive a religious education and often don’t work, living on subsidies. —Marc Champion, Twin Cities, 14 Aug. 2025

In Norway, conscription is obligatory yet very selective, applying to men and women. —Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 July 2025

Koffler, meanwhile, said the latest conscription numbers are intended to ensure that the correlation of forces on the battlefield and in reserves, continues to favor Russia. —Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 1 Apr. 2025

Even soccer superstar Son Heung-min, who avoided conscription through an exemption after winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games with South Korea’s national team, has taken four weeks of basic military training. —Will Ripley, CNN Money, 21 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

see conscript entry 1

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for conscription

• ascription
• decryption
• description
• egyptian
• encryption
• inscription
• prescription
• proscription
• subscription
• transcription
• circumscription
• misdescription