bondage

Meanings

1. 1noununcountableformalliterary

   The condition of being a slave or serf, owned by another person and forced to work for them.

   Grammar: Uncountable; often follows in or from: held in bondage, freed from bondage.

   Patterns

   • in bondage
   • freed from bondage

   Many families lived in bondage for generations before the law finally ended it.

   The old song speaks of a longing to escape bondage and reach freedom.

   She wrote a history of those who bought their way out of bondage.

2. 2noununcountablefigurativeliterary

   The state of being strongly controlled by something, such as a habit, debt or duty.

   Grammar: Uncountable; usually followed by to: bondage to debt.

   Patterns

   • bondage to something

   He described his years of gambling as a kind of bondage to hope.

   Many borrowers felt trapped in bondage to high-interest debt.

   The author argues that fear can keep people in bondage to the past.

3. 3noununcountable

   The practice of tying or restraining a willing person for sexual pleasure.

   Grammar: Uncountable; describes a practice between consenting adults.

   Patterns

   • bondage gear

   The exhibition discussed how bondage appears in fashion photography.

   Some shops sell bondage gear only to adult customers.

   The film was rated for adults because of its scenes of bondage.

Common combinations

in bondage

The people were held in bondage for decades.

free from bondage

The law set thousands free from bondage.

escape from bondage

The story tells of her escape from bondage.

bondage to debt

Credit cards can lead to bondage to debt.

bondage of poverty

Education offered a way out of the bondage of poverty.

release from bondage

The prisoners celebrated their release from bondage.

Synonyms and how they differ

slavery

Slavery is the usual, plainer word for owning people, whereas bondage is more literary and can also describe softer forms of control.

servitude

Servitude emphasizes forced service and loss of freedom, and it can describe work for others without literal ownership.

captivity

Captivity stresses being held against your will, such as a prisoner or zoo animal, rather than being forced to work.

enslavement

Enslavement refers to the act or process of making someone a slave, while bondage names the condition afterward.

Opposites

Word family

bond noun

a tie or link, or an old word for a chain

bonded adjective

tied together

bondsman noun

a man bound to serve without pay in earlier times

bondservant noun

a person bound to serve a master

Commonly confused: bondage or bond?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “bondage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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