bondage
noun
Simple meaning
Being under the control of a force or influence or abstract power.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
bahndijSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbɑndɪdʒ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The state of being under the control of a force or influence or abstract power
“He was in bondage to fear.”
The state of being under the control of another person
The state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.
sex
Sexual practice that involves physically restraining (by cords or handcuffs) one of the partners
sex
The practice of physically restraining people for sexual pleasure, such as by tying up or shackling.
by extension
The state of lacking freedom; constraint.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The state of being under the control of a force or influence or abstract power
Used this way, bondage is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He was in bondage to fear.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “bondage to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: bondage to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use bondage
- “He was in bondage to fear.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.