noun
bondage
BAHN-dij/ˈbɑːndɪdʒ/
The condition of being restrained or held under another's control.
Shackles and a short chain hold the captive in bondage.
Etymology
The farmer word came to mean a serf or slave as its social meaning deteriorated under feudalism. Bondage names that unfree condition, extended to other forms of restraint or domination.
In context
out to look at her and Bow Low as she went by for everyone knew she had been the means of destroying the wicked witch and setting them free from bondage
More examples
- The story follows people escaping bondage.
- The museum examines the history of forced labor and bondage.
- The survey distinguishes consensual sexual bondage from coercive restraint.