Definition of captivitynext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of captivity Three women who had been kidnapped between 2002 and 2004 and the 6-year-old daughter one of them had while in captivity, fathered by kidnapper Ariel Castro, were rescued. USA Today, 6 May 2026 Her octopus was named Marcellus McSquiddles, an aging crank who notes his days of captivity in a Puget Sound aquarium as if on death row, but also recognizes the night janitor, Tova, is lonely and grieving. Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026 In The Second Lady, when America’s beloved First Lady is abducted and replaced by a Russian double, both women must fight to survive—one navigating captivity in Siberia, the other infiltrating the White House to sabotage NATO during the G7 Summit. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2026 Animal ambassadors are animals that live long-term, or sometimes permanently, in captivity and teach people who visit them about good stewardship and wild animals. Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for captivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captivity
Noun
  • Among the most painful letters are those between Scheidt’s father and his brother, who would also spend time in internment camps.
    Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The few works in the show depicting Stojka’s experiences before and after internment capture the particularity of Romani life.
    Ben Davis, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The fallout for Murdock, as seen in the episode, is his arrest and imprisonment.
    Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
  • Her current imprisonment began in December, when she was arrested in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
    ABC News, ABC News, 6 May 2026
Noun
  • While the median home price in the Baltimore area is around $360,000, the median asset wealth for a Black family in the city unaffected by incarceration is approximately $2,700.
    Izabela Engel, Baltimore Sun, 28 Apr. 2026
  • Another challenge came in the form of how to describe three and a half years, beginning in March 1942, that Mirikitani spent at the Tule Lake incarceration camp in Northern California, alongside thousands of other Japanese American citizens.
    Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • His attorneys didn’t object to his new confinement status.
    Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2026
  • He was acquitted of two counts of criminal confinement.
    Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 3 May 2026
Noun
  • Or worse, to turn it into a sort of prison sentence.
    James Wood, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • The rights lawyer fainted twice in prison on Friday in the northwestern city of Zanjan, her foundation said, and was admitted to a local hospital.
    Adam Schreck, Fortune, 3 May 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Captivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captivity. Accessed 11 May. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on captivity

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster