captivity
noun
Simple meaning
Being a slave.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kaptivuhteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kæpˈtɪvəti
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 a slave
“So every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity"--Shakespeare.”
The state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved.
“He was held in captivity until he died.”
The state of being captive.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The state of being a slave
Used this way, captivity is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“So every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity"--Shakespeare.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Slavenoun
“So every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity"--Shakespeare.”
Periodnoun
“He was held in captivity until he died.”
More ways to use captivity
- “He was held in captivity until he died.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The deportation of the Jews to Babylonia by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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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.