How to Use captivity in a Sentence

captivity

noun
Definition of captivitynext
Synonyms for captivitynext
  • The prisoners were released from captivity.
  • Birds raised in captivity and released to the wild were doomed to fail.
    — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 25 Nov. 2021
  • Try not to keep a bat in captivity for longer than an hour.
    — Malia Wollan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2021
  • An adult milky stork stands about 3 feet tall and can live up to 30 years or more in captivity.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 July 2021
  • Coan said the whales, which range in age from 7 to 12, were born in captivity and cannot be released into the ocean.
    — Pat Eaton-Robb, courant.com, 12 May 2021
  • She is held in captivity in the midst of a training camp by Nur, a young fighter, wife to a soldier of the Caliphate.
    — Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 13 Oct. 2021
  • Around 100 of the Chibok Girls are still missing, and some are thought to have died in captivity.
    — Reuters, CNN, 7 June 2021
  • Over the years, Jim and Lyn would learn of the birth of their second and third grandchildren in captivity.
    — James Gordon Meek, ABC News, 27 July 2021
  • On average, milk snakes can live from 12 to 20 years in the wild and even longer in captivity.
    — Cori Brown, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 10 Oct. 2021
  • On that day, which would have been his 117th in captivity, Mills heard a noise in the distance that sounded like a tank.
    — al, 24 Apr. 2022
  • Now, the blond timber rattlesnake is safe in captivity, and soon the public will be able to see it.
    — Brian Broom, USA TODAY, 1 Oct. 2021
  • Freedom is at the heart of this novel, and with that, captivity.
    — Michele Filgate, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2022
  • Yarden’s wife, Shiri, and their two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, remain in Hamas captivity.
    — Rachel Wolf, Fox News, 8 Feb. 2025
  • In Thailand there are now more elephants in captivity than in the wild.
    — Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2021
  • The orca, now believed to be around 57, is the oldest in captivity.
    — Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 30 Mar. 2023
  • This was no solace for Wado, who lived in a cold tent for part of his captivity.
    — John Tamny, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2023
  • The species reached a total population — in the wild and in captivity — of about 475 this spring.
    — Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2022
  • There are more than 100 hostages still held in captivity.
    — Eric Cortellessa/jerusalem, TIME, 8 Aug. 2024
  • Coral only spawn once a year, and very rarely in captivity.
    — Tara Duggan, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Dec. 2021
  • Those were older men, and, in this case, this week, younger people, but all of them alive for months in Hamas captivity.
    — CBS News, 1 Sep. 2024
  • The hostages For almost 11 months, Leah Polin had clung to the hope that her grandson would survive the captivity of Hamas and return home.
    — Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 6 Oct. 2024
  • The race to free Washington’s last orca in captivity is on the verge of a breakthrough.
    — Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Corals from other parts of the world have been raised in captivity for years and are well understood.
    — Kevin Spear, orlandosentinel.com, 2 Sep. 2021
  • On the fourth day of her captivity, Kozakiewicz was convinced Tyree would kill her.
    — Diana Pearl, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2023
  • Our culture does not lack for tales of girls in captivity.
    — Steph Cha, USA TODAY, 6 July 2021
  • Gibbons in captivity have hung pieces of rope or blanket on their cages to make swings.
    — National Geographic, 12 Jan. 2023
  • To this day, Smart said her parents have not asked her for details about her time in captivity.
    — Analisa Novak, CBS News, 1 June 2022
  • The act is named for a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007 and is believed to have died while in captivity.
    — Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2023
  • After hatching the young were reared in captivity and in the wild before they were released.
    — Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2021
  • Negotiations have begun for a second phase of a ceasefire deal that would end the war with Hamas and return all Israeli hostages from captivity in Gaza.
    — Daniel Estrin, NPR, 3 Feb. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'captivity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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