prisoner of war
Detained enemy soldier
A prisoner of war is a member of armed forces captured and detained by an enemy during military conflict.
International conventions govern their treatment, requiring humane conditions and eventual release.
Often abbreviated POW: His grandfather spent two years as a POW in Vietnam.
The term extends loosely to anyone held captive by opposing forces.
- POWCaptured military personnel
- behind enemy linesWithin adversary's controlled area
- missing in actionCombat status, fate unknown
- Geneva ConventionsWartime humanitarian treaties
- forced laborCompelled toil, no consent
stalag · escape attempts · veteran · war hero · battlefield · war crimes · Hague Conventions · death march · concentration camp · repatriation · enemy · humanitarian law · parole · Red Cross · soldier · barbed wire · barbed wire fence · war
- war captivesPOW, captured soldier, enemy combatant, internee, escapee
- warcombat, warfare, battle scenes, battles, soldier
- wartimerationing, war economy, war bonds, war effort, evacuations
- captivitydetained, prison, confinement, jail, held
- imprisonmentprison, jail, cells, captivity, dungeons
- captivesinmate, detainee, hostage, POW, internee
prisoner of warcaptor
One who seizes another
prison guard · jailer · escaped prisoner · camp commandant · liberator
prisoner of warcombat troops
capture, prisoner, captive, imprisoned, imprisonment, prisoners, internment, incarcerate, incarceration