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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Recent Examples of captivity
Soldiers released from Russian captivity during a prisoner exchange on Sunday in Chernihiv oblast, Ukraine.
—
Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 27 May 2025
People in Tenafly, N.J., watch a live broadcast in anticipation of the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, a Tenafly native, from Hamas captivity in Gaza, on Monday, May 12, 2025.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025
Zelenskyy said in a post on X that some of the Ukrainians released had been in Russian captivity since 2022.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 4 July 2025
Madsen played the kid's foster dad, Glen, who helps save the orca from captivity.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for captivity
Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 27 May 2025
People in Tenafly, N.J., watch a live broadcast in anticipation of the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, a Tenafly native, from Hamas captivity in Gaza, on Monday, May 12, 2025.
—Amira El-Fekki, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025
Zelenskyy said in a post on X that some of the Ukrainians released had been in Russian captivity since 2022.
—Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 4 July 2025
Madsen played the kid's foster dad, Glen, who helps save the orca from captivity.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for captivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captivity
Noun
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The restaurant, located at 810 1/2 E. 31st St., was opened in 1951 by Paul and Kitty Kawakami, a Japanese-American couple who was confined in a California internment camp during World War II despite both being born in the U.S., according to The Star’s archives.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
25 July 2025
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Her grandfather, along with other family members, was imprisoned during World War II in the Japanese internment camps, losing the family farm in the process.—
Brittany Anas,
Denver Post,
23 July 2025
Noun
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Combs was convicted of transportation to engage in prostitution, which the judge said mandates incarceration.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
4 Aug. 2025
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But the effort — involving mass incarceration, including at a notorious megaprison — has been criticized by rights groups for rounding up huge numbers of innocent people as well.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Noun
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He was arrested following the shooting and is currently in pre-trial confinement.—
Greg Wehner , Liz Friden,
FOXNews.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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Radford has been interviewed by Army investigators and is in pretrial confinement, Lubas said.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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After pleading guilty, Lewis was sentenced to 2½ years in prison in addition to a no-contact order that bans him from Fever games and facilities.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Aug. 2025
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He was sentenced to a term of five months to 20 years in prison and ordered to be removed to Laos in 2007.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captivity. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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