Search Result for "captivity": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. the state of being imprisoned;
- Example: "he was held in captivity until he died"
- Example: "the imprisonment of captured soldiers"
- Example: "his ignominious incarceration in the local jail"
- Example: "he practiced the immurement of his enemies in the castle dungeon"
[syn: captivity, imprisonment, incarceration, immurement]

2. the state of being a slave;
- Example: "So every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity"--Shakespeare
[syn: enslavement, captivity]



The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Captivity \Cap*tiv"i*ty\, n. [L. captivitas: cf. F.
   captivit['e].]
   1. The state of being a captive or a prisoner.
      [1913 Webster]

            More celebrated in his captivity that in his
            greatest triumphs.                    --Dryden.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. A state of being under control; subjection of the will or
      affections; bondage.
      [1913 Webster]

            Sink in the soft captivity together.  --Addison.

   Syn: Imprisonment; confinement; bondage; subjection;
        servitude; slavery; thralldom; serfdom.
        [1913 Webster]


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

captivity
    n 1: the state of being imprisoned; "he was held in captivity
         until he died"; "the imprisonment of captured soldiers";
         "his ignominious incarceration in the local jail"; "he
         practiced the immurement of his enemies in the castle
         dungeon" [syn: captivity, imprisonment,
         incarceration, immurement]
    2: the state of being a slave; "So every bondman in his own hand
       bears the power to cancel his captivity"--Shakespeare [syn:
       enslavement, captivity]