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
Under the terms of the Dix-Hill agreement, some 30,000 prisoners were returned from captivity by the fall, but the formal exchange arrangement was soon upended.
—
Drew Gilpin Faust, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
Bubbles and Samantha, the oldest and third-oldest chimpanzees in North American captivity, were joyous as ever, celebrating their 63rd and 57th birthdays on Thursday.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
Ukrainian officials said 150 Ukrainian servicemen and seven civilians returned from Russian captivity.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
Ukrainian officials said 150 Ukrainian servicemen and seven civilians returned from Russian captivity.
—Kamila Hrabchuk, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for captivity
Drew Gilpin Faust, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
Bubbles and Samantha, the oldest and third-oldest chimpanzees in North American captivity, were joyous as ever, celebrating their 63rd and 57th birthdays on Thursday.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026
Ukrainian officials said 150 Ukrainian servicemen and seven civilians returned from Russian captivity.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
Ukrainian officials said 150 Ukrainian servicemen and seven civilians returned from Russian captivity.
—Kamila Hrabchuk, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for captivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captivity
Noun
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Walz ordered the flags to fly at half-staff immediately until sunset on the day of Amor's internment.—
Riley Moser,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
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Reynolds order will keep flags lowered until the day of internment for the soldiers.—
Lucia Cheng,
Des Moines Register,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Jeff Rosen said O’Connor would face at least 30 years of imprisonment pending aggravating factors still to be considered by a judge on March 11.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2026
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The pending charges are armed robbery, unlawful imprisonment, assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felonious assault, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The act requires that savings from reduced incarceration be directed toward victim services, community corrections and programs that support community reintegration for people who’ve been released from prison.—
Mara H. Gottfried,
Twin Cities,
10 Mar. 2026
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But his six years of incarceration had failed to inspire any genuine contrition.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Lira was sentenced to four months in federal prison and four months of home confinement and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
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Unlike several of the other artists on view, his confinement is the result of political repression rather than mental illness.—
Miguel Sirgado,
Miami Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In 2023, Jalloh was sentenced to seven years in prison for malicious wounding, with five of those years suspended.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Mar. 2026
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Now, the man responsible is set to spend more than six decades in prison, according to Adams County court records.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Captivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captivity. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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