Meanings
plural bondages
- countableuncountableThe state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.
debt bondage
2 more examples
In Judeo-Christian tradition, the Israelites fled bondage at the hands of the Egyptians, only to wander in the wilderness for the next four decades.
"She was the Wicked Witch of the East, as I said," answered the little woman. "She has held all the Munchkins in bondage for many years, making them slave for her night and day. Now they are all set free, and are grateful to you for the favor."
1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M[elvin] Hill Co., →OCLCAntonyms: freedom
- broadlycountableuncountableThe state of lacking freedom; constraint.
He lived in financial bondage to his cocaine habit; no matter how much he earned, it all seemed to disappear up his nose.
Antonyms: freedom
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery.
nounThe state of lacking freedom; constraint.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe state of being under the control of another person
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishbonda“householder, husband, head of a family”
- Middle Englishbond“tenant farmer, serf”
- Medieval Latinbondagium“an inferior tenure held by a bond or husbandman”
- Middle Englishbondage“serfdom”
- Englishbondage
Inherited from Middle English bondage (“serfdom”), from British Medieval Latin bondagium (“an inferior tenure held by a bond or husbandman”), from Middle English bond (“tenant farmer, serf”), from Old English bonda (“householder, husband, head of a family”), of Old Norse origin. Sense development influenced by the unrelated terms bond and bind.
More words from Middle English, Medieval Latin, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek δουλεία
- δουλεία (douleía)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
Bulgarian ро́бство, ограничение
- ро́бство (róbstvo)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- ограничение (ograničenie)state of lacking freedom; constraint
Catalan esclavitud
- esclavitudstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
Chinese Mandarin 奴役, 束縛 /束缚
- 奴役 (núyì)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- 束縛 /束缚 (shùfù)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- 人身依附 (rénshēn yīfù)practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
- 綁縛 /绑缚 (bǎngfù, bǎngfú)practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Czech bondáž
- bondážpractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Danish slaveri, bindeleg
- slaveristate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- bindelegpractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Dutch bondage
- bondagepractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Esperanto servuto, sklaveco
- servutostate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- sklavecostate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- kateniĝostate of lacking freedom; constraint
- katenadopractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Finnish orjuus, orjuus
- orjuusstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- orjuusstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- sitomisleikitpractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
- sitominenpractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
French esclavage, servitude
- esclavagestate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- servitudestate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- esclavagestate of lacking freedom; constraint
- bondagepractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
German Sklaverei, Pflicht
- Sklavereistate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- Pflichtstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- Bondagepractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Hindi ग़ुलामी, बन्दगी
- ग़ुलामी (ġulāmī)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- बन्दगी (bandagī)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
Hungarian szolgaság, rabszolgaság
- szolgaságstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- rabszolgaságstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- leigázottságstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- kötelékstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- rabságstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- fogságstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- igastate of lacking freedom; constraint
- kiszolgáltatottságstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- alávetettségstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- bilincsstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- béklyóstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- kikötözéspractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Irish giallacht, cuibhriú
- giallachtstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- cuibhriúpractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Italian schiavitù, bondage
- schiavitùstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- bondagepractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Japanese ボンデージ, 緊縛
- ボンデージ (bondēji)practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
- 緊縛 (kinbaku)practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
- 縛り (shibari)practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Korean 본디지
- 본디지 (bondiji)practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Latin captīvitās, captīvitās
- captīvitāsstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- captīvitāsstate of lacking freedom; constraint
Māori ponongatanga, whakapononga
- ponongatangastate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- whakaponongastate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
Norwegian Bokmål slaveri
- slaveristate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
Portuguese escravidão
- escravidãostate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
Russian ра́бство, нево́ля
- ра́бство (rábstvo)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- нево́ля (nevólja)state of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- зави́симость (zavísimostʹ)state of lacking freedom; constraint
- бонда́ж (bondáž)practice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Spanish sujeción, bondage
- sujeciónstate of lacking freedom; constraint
- bondagepractice of tying people up for sexual pleasure
Swedish slaveri
- slaveristate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
Turkish esaret, esirlik
- esaretstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- esirlikstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- kölelikstate of being enslaved or the practice of slavery
- görevstate of lacking freedom; constraint
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
bondage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bondage
“bondage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bondage. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bondage,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bondage.
Source: bondage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.