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
By the early 1980s, every condor known to man was whisked away to captivity to save them from extinction.
—
Kyle Martin, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025
Rohde was a Pulitzer finalist in 2010 for a five-part New York Times series on his seven-month captivity with the Taliban.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
Two months into the ordeal, Kramer documents Atzili’s release from captivity and her husband’s burial.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
Throughout her brother’s captivity, McGraw’s Gwen relies on her prophetic dreams to help the North Denver police pinpoint her brother’s whereabouts, as well as all the other undiscovered bodies of The Grabber’s victims.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for captivity
Kyle Martin, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025
Rohde was a Pulitzer finalist in 2010 for a five-part New York Times series on his seven-month captivity with the Taliban.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
Two months into the ordeal, Kramer documents Atzili’s release from captivity and her husband’s burial.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
Throughout her brother’s captivity, McGraw’s Gwen relies on her prophetic dreams to help the North Denver police pinpoint her brother’s whereabouts, as well as all the other undiscovered bodies of The Grabber’s victims.
—Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for captivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captivity
Noun
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Their survival is dependent on local taxes and fees for opening or closing gravesites and providing internment rights.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
23 Oct. 2025
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My grandparents not talking about their experience being sent to a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, and then also my mom never talking about her older sister, who passed away before I was born.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Nii Mensah was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for his role in the attack; Jakeem Rose received eight; and Ugnius Asmena received seven.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
24 Oct. 2025
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According to the report, the manager was charged with three counts of unlawful imprisonment, along with a $500 bond for each, and one count of harassment with an additional $500 bond, totaling to a $2,000 bond.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Tarek Bazrouk, an anti-Israel agitator who was hit with federal hate crime charges after assaulting Jewish counter-protesters, was sentenced to 17 months of incarceration followed by three years of supervised release.—
Rachel Wolf , Maria Paronich,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
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Diving into the data, indicators such as access to grocery stores, affordable housing options, incarceration rates and homelessness all play a factor in lowering family stability.—
Desiree Mathurin,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This design enables continuous plasma confinement without needing external current drive, potentially allowing for longer, steadier operations than other fusion models.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Oct. 2025
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In Ibadan, the biennial activates the New Culture Studio designed by Demas Nwoko (1970), exploring urban and architectural dimensions of confinement.—
PhotoVogue,
Vogue,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Sylvester Stallone has an unexpected pick for which of his films shouldn't be sentenced to cryo-prison.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
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He was sentenced to life in prison without parole that July, per the Detroit Free Press.—
Kelsey Lentz,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captivity. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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