shanghaiing

Forced maritime conscription

Shanghaiing is the practice of kidnapping or coercing people into service aboard ships, historically through drugging, assault, or deception.

The term comes from Shanghai, a common destination for vessels that needed crews obtained by force.

The verb shanghai now extends to any situation where someone is pressed into unwilling service: I got shanghaied into organizing the office party.

coercion

pressgang

Compel military enrollment

impressmentForced military recruitment
crimpsPinches into waves
conscriptCompulsory military enrollee

dragoon · compel · involuntary · servitude · indenture · abduct · seize · snatch · draft · subjugate

criminal

abduction

Unlawful seizure of person

kidnappingUnlawful seizure of person
unlawfulForbidden by statute
detentionTemporary official holding

captivity · trafficking · enslavement · false imprisonment · assault · drugging · conspiracy · felony · victim · perpetrator

nautical

sailing

Wind-propelled water travel

clipperFast ship or trimmer
voyageJourney by sea
seafaringTraveling by ocean vessel

merchantman · schooner · barque · mariner · crew · deckhand · ship · harbor · wharf · dock

deception

trickery

Deliberate deception or fraud

duperyCalculated misleading of another
deceitDeliberate misleading of others
bamboozleDeceive through cunning

mislead · subterfuge · guile · artifice · chicanery · pretense · duplicity · lure · entrap · ruse

Opposites

voluntariness of service

shanghaiingvoluntary enlistment

Unpressured military signup

volunteering · signing up · enlisting · opting in · self-selection

method of recruitment

shanghaiingfair employment

Unbiased hiring and treatment

freedom of movement

shanghaiingreleasing

Allowing to escape

freeing · liberating · emancipating · letting go · setting free

Family

Shanghai, shanghai, shanghaied, shanghais

Familiarity: Top 1,000,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Rated PG