held against will
Kept without consent
Held against will describes being detained or kept somewhere without consent—the situation of kidnapping, false imprisonment, or hostage-taking.
The phrase appears in legal contexts and news reports: The victims were held against their will for three days.
It emphasizes that the person would leave if they could, distinguishing captivity from voluntary presence.
- captiveOne held by force
- hostageCaptive held as security
- prisonerConfined criminal detainee
- kidnappedTaken captive illegally
- abductedTaken by force
human trafficking · missing person · trapped · confined · false imprisonment · restrained · chained · tied up · locked · locked away · cage · cell · basement · bound · tied · gagged · ransom · escape
held against willvoluntary
Done by choice
willing · consenting · by choice · of one's own accord · of one's own free will
held against willfree
Without payment or restriction
liberated · at liberty · released · free to go · unrestrained
held against willfree to leave
of one's own accord · of one's own free will · guest · visitor
held, against, will, holds, holding, holders, holdout, beholden, withholds