captivity
part of speech
noun (captivity — uncountable)
meaning for a pupil
1) Captivity is the state of being kept in a place and not being free, like an animal in a zoo or a prisoner. tree →
2) In captivity means kept by people instead of living in the wild. tree →
3) Captivity can also mean being held completely by something pleasant, like a delightful story. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science and geography lessons pupils compare animals in captivity (zoos, aquariums, farms) with animals in the wild, and discuss how zoos help endangered species by breeding them. In history and stories prisoners are held in captivity and escape. Phrases: «in captivity», «bred in captivity», «released from captivity».
examples
- Pandas are hard to breed in captivity. tree →
- The lion was born in captivity and has never seen the wild. tree →
- Some animals live longer in captivity than in the wild. tree →
- The prisoners were held in captivity for months. tree →
- The rescued turtle was released from captivity into the sea. tree →
- Should dolphins be kept in captivity? Discuss. tree →
- The present volume attempts to begin the pleasant captivity from the earliest years. tree →
note
Uncountable. Opposite: freedom, in the wild. Adjective: captive; noun: captive (a prisoner), captor (the person who holds someone). Verb: capture.
In the corpora
- Look at wild frogs, lizards and tadpoles but leave them in their home; they usually die in captivity and some are protected.
- Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be thine; for they shall go into captivity.
- They stoop, they bow down together, they could not deliver the burden; and themselves are gone into captivity.
- Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
- For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first, saith the LORD.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «captivity» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.