CAPTIVITY Synonyms: 28 Similar and Opposite Words

captivity

noun

kap-ˈti-və-tē

Definition of captivity

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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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 Even more surprisingly, the 24-year-old doe that lived in captivity in Kerr Wildlife Management Area actually birthed a fawn in her final year. — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026 By 1987, the last free-flying condor had been brought into captivity, and an intensive captive breeding program was underway. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 During captivity, the animals get their vaccine shots for the plague and canine distemper, which grants them lifelong immunity. — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Conlon wrote a book about another 1983 kidnapping, this one human, a supermarket executive rescued in the woods here after 23 days in IRA captivity and Conlon says Shergar's captors would have found a soft landing in Leitrim. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for captivity

Recent Examples of Synonyms for captivity

Noun

Adding to the dark absurdity of the situation was the fact that Seghers’s husband, the Hungarian Marxist scholar László Radványi, was being held in a French internment camp, on the basis that Hungary was a German ally.

— Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
At the exhibition’s press opening, curator Cindy Kang talked about trying to dispel the idea that internment was an isolated incident that these artists then moved on from.

— Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of internment

Noun

Douglas detailed his volatile relationship with his late father, Kirk Douglas, his son Cameron’s addiction and imprisonment, and the Stage 4 cancer diagnosis that forced him to confront his own mortality.

— Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
For decades, Florida lawmakers have demanded investigations, indictments and imprisonment for the Cuban leadership involved.

— Liv Caputo Herald, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of imprisonment

Noun

This mandated that at least 10% of locally generated, unrestricted revenue be allocated to incarceration alternatives.

— Times staff, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
His government’s own hardline crackdown on gangs back home did restore peace to what was once the most violent country in the Western Hemisphere — though critics highlight his use of mass incarceration and accusations of widespread abuses.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of incarceration

Noun

According to Brett Barrouquere's story Monday, violating any terms of home confinement would result in the inmate going right back to prison.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
Think super-powerful magnets in medical imaging and particle physics experiments; faster circuits that won’t overheat; potential for nuclear fusion plasma confinement.

— Sven Badoux, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of confinement

Noun

The statutory maximum is life in prison, Lett informed Désir, should he be found guilty.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2026
Missouri state troopers have captured an escaped convict who broke free from a Tennessee prison last week, a highway patrol spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

— Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of prison

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captivities

captivity

captor

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“Captivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captivity. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of captivity

noun

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