captivity

noun

kap-ˈti-və-tē How to pronounce captivity (audio)
Definition of captivitynext
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of captivity Even more surprisingly, the 24-year-old doe that lived in captivity in Kerr Wildlife Management Area actually birthed a fawn in her final year. — Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 24 Sep. 2026 By 1987, the last free-flying condor had been brought into captivity, and an intensive captive breeding program was underway. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 During captivity, the animals get their vaccine shots for the plague and canine distemper, which grants them lifelong immunity. — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Conlon wrote a book about another 1983 kidnapping, this one human, a supermarket executive rescued in the woods here after 23 days in IRA captivity and Conlon says Shergar's captors would have found a soft landing in Leitrim. — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 20 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for captivity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captivity
  1. internment
  2. imprisonment
  3. incarceration
  4. confinement
  5. prison
Noun
  • Adding to the dark absurdity of the situation was the fact that Seghers’s husband, the Hungarian Marxist scholar László Radványi, was being held in a French internment camp, on the basis that Hungary was a German ally.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • At the exhibition’s press opening, curator Cindy Kang talked about trying to dispel the idea that internment was an isolated incident that these artists then moved on from.
    — Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of internment
Noun
  • Douglas detailed his volatile relationship with his late father, Kirk Douglas, his son Cameron’s addiction and imprisonment, and the Stage 4 cancer diagnosis that forced him to confront his own mortality.
    — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • For decades, Florida lawmakers have demanded investigations, indictments and imprisonment for the Cuban leadership involved.
    — Liv Caputo Herald, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of imprisonment
Noun
  • During her incarceration, Runa stopped eating and after her release, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
    — Hanako Montgomery, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Some of those lawmakers also want structural shifts in the country’s penal system, drawing inspiration from the mass-incarceration model of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, if Bolsonaro wins and wants to spend funds toward that end.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of incarceration
Noun
  • Think super-powerful magnets in medical imaging and particle physics experiments; faster circuits that won’t overheat; potential for nuclear fusion plasma confinement.
    — Sven Badoux, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Even with execution dates looming, their death row confinement offers a relatively peaceful oasis.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of confinement
Noun
  • She was sentenced to just over 11 years in prison, and she and her former boyfriend and business partner Sunny Balwani were ordered to pay $452 million in restitution.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Miranda Orozco, 50, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after admitting to arranging travel and accommodations for two people who died and another who was seriously injured.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of prison

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Cite this Entry

“Captivity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captivity. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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