hostage
noun
Simple meaning
Being held as security or to compel someone else to act or not act in a particular way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hahstijSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɑstɪdʒ
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
A person seized in order to compel another party to act (or refrain from acting) in a certain way, because of the threat of harm to the hostage.
The condition of being held as security or to compel someone else to act or not act in a particular way.
One who is compelled by something, especially something that poses a threat; one who is not free to choose their own course of action.
A person given as a pledge or security for the performance of the conditions of a treaty or similar agreement, such as to ensure the status of a vassal.
Something that constrains one's actions because it is at risk.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person seized in order to compel another party to act (or refrain from acting) in a certain way, because of the threat of harm to the hostage.
Used this way, hostage is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use hostage
- “The negotiations aimed to release the hostage safely from captivity.”noun
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: person seized in order to compel another party to act (or refrain from acting) in a certain way
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “hostage” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.