bondage

bondage — noun

1. a condition where another person or power controls your life and limits your fre

1.nounC2
Definition

a condition where another person or power controls your life and limits your freedom, especially in slavery, captivity, or forced labor.

Example

For years, the mining camp kept whole families in bondage through debt.

keep someone in bondage

The speech honored people who had escaped bondage and built new lives.

escape bondage

Common collocations
  • in bondage
  • keep in bondage
  • held in bondage
  • release from bondage
  • bondage to fear
  • debt bondage
Synonyms
  • slavery

    more specific and usually refers to people treated as property

  • captivity

    focuses on being kept prisoner rather than on a whole system of dependence

  • servitude

    formal and often used for forced work or a dependent condition

  • subjection

    more abstract and often used for political or ideological control

Antonyms
  • freedom

    the state of being able to act without outside control

  • liberty

    formal word for personal or political freedom

  • independence

    stresses not being ruled or controlled by others

Grammar Patterns

be in bondage

keep someone in bondage

release someone from bondage

bondage to + person, system, or power

Usage Note

Common in historical, legal, and strongly figurative writing. It often appears after verbs like keep, hold, and release, and it sounds much stronger than everyday words such as control or pressure.

Common Mistakes

The camp games created bondage between the students.
The camp games created a bond between the students.
'bondage' means loss of freedom or forced control, not a friendly connection.

2. a sexual practice where one partner ties or restrains the other, and reduced mov

2.nounC2
Definition

a sexual practice where one partner ties or restrains the other, and reduced movement is part of the sexual pleasure.

Example

The workshop discussed bondage in a lesson about consent and safety.

bondage + consent and safety

The health guide says bondage needs clear agreement from both partners.

bondage needs clear agreement

Common collocations
  • bondage gear
  • bondage rope
  • bondage scene
  • bondage workshop
  • bondage practice
Synonyms
  • rope play

    informal term that often refers more narrowly to rope-based restraint

  • restraint play

    describes the practice through restricted movement rather than the traditional label

  • BDSM restraint

    descriptive umbrella term used when placing it within a broader sexual context

Grammar Patterns

bondage as a sexual practice

bondage + consent/safety

bondage gear/rope/scene

Usage Note

Usually appears in discussions of adult sexuality, consent, and safety rather than in casual everyday talk. It often names the practice in general; for equipment or specific materials, speakers usually add another noun, as in bondage gear or bondage rope.

Common Mistakes

The nurse used bondage to stop the patient moving.
The nurse used restraints to stop the patient moving.
In this sense, 'bondage' refers to a sexual practice, not ordinary medical restraint.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words all refer to a loss of freedom, but they differ in range and tone. 'Bondage' is a formal word for being kept under another person's or power's control, and it can describe slavery, captivity, or severe dependence. 'Slavery' is stronger and more specific, usually referring to people treated as property. 'Captivity' focuses on being kept prisoner, often by an enemy or kidnapper. 'Servitude' is formal and often used for forced labor or a low, dependent condition. 'Subjection' is more abstract and often describes rule by a state, system, or idea. 'Bondage' can also sound figurative in writing about fear, debt, or political control. Compare: 'Families were kept in bondage by debt,' 'Millions suffered under slavery,' and 'The pilot survived years of captivity.'

bondage ↗slavery ↗captivityservitude ↗subjection

Etymology

Anglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Bondage entered English in the Middle English period. It is linked with Anglo-French forms and with the older word bond, used for a person tied to service or dependence. The central idea is being bound by someone else's power. That idea still explains both the historical sense of slavery or forced control and the later sexual sense based on physical restraint.