captivity

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /kæpˈtɪvəti/ UK /kæpˈtɪvəti/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the condition of being imprisoned or confined

The panda was born in captivity at the zoo.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the condition of being... imprisonment confinement bondage incarcerationinternmentservitude detention

Opposites

freedom liberty release emancipation

Word family

Related forms captive capture captivate

Etymology

From Latin captīvitās ('captivity'), from captīvus ('captive, taken prisoner'), from capere ('to take, seize').

captīvitās Latin capere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# captivity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** kæpˈtɪvəti
**IPA (UK):** kæpˈtɪvəti

## Meanings
1. the condition of being imprisoned or confined

## Examples
- The panda was born in captivity at the zoo.

## Synonyms
- imprisonment
- confinement
- bondage
- incarceration
- internment
- servitude
- detention

## Antonyms
- freedom
- liberty
- release
- emancipation

## Related Forms
- captive
- capture
- captivate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: captīvitās
- Root: capere

## Etymology
From Latin captīvitās ('captivity'), from captīvus ('captive, taken prisoner'), from capere ('to take, seize').

## AI Etymology
Captivity comes from Latin captīvitās ('captivity'), from captīvus ('captive, taken prisoner'), from capere ('to take, seize'). The historical trail runs through captīvitās in Latin and capere in Latin. Used as a noun, captivity now means "the condition of being imprisoned or confined", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as captive, capture, and captivate. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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captivity

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