unfreedom
State of captivity
Unfreedom is the state of not being free—lacking liberty, autonomy, or self-determination.
The word appears in political philosophy and social criticism to name conditions of constraint that "slavery" might overstate but "restriction" understates: The unfreedom of the modern worker differs from chattel slavery but remains unfreedom.
It covers everything from literal captivity to subtler forms of coercion and dependence.
Legal detention in jail
- incarcerationConfinement in jail
- detentionTemporary official holding
- confinementState of being restricted
- jailDetention facility
prison · cell · cage · custody · internment · bondage · chains · shackles
Forcing into submission
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- despotismAbsolute one-person rule
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
dictatorship · autocracy · fascism · domination · persecution · exploitation · injustice · suppression
Ownership of people
- enslavementForced human ownership
- bondageInvoluntary subjugation to another
- serfdomFeudal bound labor
- indenturedContracted to serve
chattel · thrall · peonage · forced labor · human trafficking · subjection · master · owned
Limiting condition or rule
- limitationBound on extent
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
- regulationOfficial rules governing conduct
control · curtailment · inhibition · embargo · ban · sanction · curfew · censorship
Unable to escape
- powerlessnessInability to affect outcomes
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
- voicelessnessLack of spoken sound
- silencedRendered unable to speak
suffocated · stifled · repressed · constrained · inhibited · paralyzed · dependency · submission
imprisonment
Legal detention in jail
- incarcerationConfinement in jail
- detentionTemporary official holding
- confinementState of being restricted
jail · prison · cell · cage · custody · internment · bondage · chains · shackles · hostage
subjugation
Forcing into submission
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- despotismAbsolute one-person rule
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
totalitarianism · dictatorship · autocracy · fascism · domination · persecution · exploitation · injustice · suppression · coercion
slavery
Ownership of people
- enslavementForced human ownership
- bondageInvoluntary subjugation to another
- serfdomFeudal bound labor
indentured · chattel · thrall · peonage · forced labor · human trafficking · subjection · master · owned · bound
constraint
Limiting condition or rule
- limitationBound on extent
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- barrierObstruction preventing passage
regulation · control · curtailment · inhibition · embargo · ban · sanction · curfew · censorship · surveillance
trapped
Unable to escape
- powerlessnessInability to affect outcomes
- helplessnessLacking ability to cope
- voicelessnessLack of spoken sound
silenced · suffocated · stifled · repressed · constrained · inhibited · paralyzed · dependency · submission · compliance
unfreedomfreedom
Absence of constraint
liberty · free society · emancipation · liberation · self-determination
unfreedomautonomy
Independent decision-making capacity
self-governance · self-rule · independency · agency · self-direction
free, freedom, freed, freeing, freely, franchise, freer, freedoms, freest