Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

bondage

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of bondage

  1. the state of being a slave the Civil War ended over 200 years of bondage for black Africans in America Synonyms slavery, enslavement, servility, servitude, thrall, thralldom (or thraldom), yokeRelated Words peonage, serfdom; dependence (also dependance), subjection, subjugation; captivity, enchainment, imprisonment, incarcerationNear Antonyms emancipation, enfranchisement, liberation, manumission; autonomy, independence, self-government, sovereignty (also sovranty)Antonyms freedom, liberty

Read the Latest from M-W

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image386126722
Words That Come From the Dinner Table
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Learn More about bondage

  1. Dictionary: Definition of bondage Spanish Central: Translation of bondage Nglish: Translation of bondage for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of bondage for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up bondage? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

gauche

play

lacking social experience or grace

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  2. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  3. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

  4. kakistocracy Frustrated Twitter users have been searching for this word.

  5. bona fide Made in good faith

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

alt-596e1a928254c
Words We're Watching: 'Fidget Spinner'

Don't fight the fad

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game