contrabands

Illicit transported merchandise

Contrabands are goods that are illegal to import, export, or possess—smuggled items, banned substances, prohibited weapons.

In American Civil War usage, contrabands referred to enslaved people who escaped to Union lines, classified as seized enemy property rather than returned to their enslavers: The contrabands found refuge in the army camp.

The term avoided the political question of emancipation while denying Confederate labor.

wartime

blockade

Sealing off a place

Civil WarCountrymen fighting countrymen
fugitivesThose fleeing from law
enslavedMade someone's property

Union · Confederate · refuge · emancipation · freedom seekers · military · camps · laborers · sanctuary · escape

smuggling

goods

Things for sale

traffickingIllegal transport for profit
customsTraditional practices or import taxes
borderOuter edge or limit

illegal · shipment · seizure · cargo · hidden · concealed · import · export · duty · tariff

trade

embargo

Official prohibition on trade

sanctionsPunitive international restrictions
restrictedLimited in scope
bannedOfficially disallowed

prohibited goods · commerce · illicit · merchandise · commodities · regulated · controlled · tariffs · trafficking · underground economy

prison

prohibited

Officially not permitted

inmatesIncarcerated individuals
cellsBasic biological units
smuggledMoved goods illegally

guards · visitors · phones · drugs · weapons · shanks · concealment · searches · detection · confiscation

Opposites

regulatory status

contrabandslicensed merchandise

Products made with trademark approval

Phrases

contraband goodsProhibited items for trade
contraband tradeIllegal exchange of banned goods

Family

contraband

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG