hostage
noun
- a person given as a pledge, or taken prisoner as by an enemy or terrorist, until certain conditions are met
- Obsolete the state of being a hostage
See hostage in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(hŏsˈtĭj)
noun- A person held by one party in a conflict as security that specified terms will be met by the opposing party.
- One that serves as security against an implied threat: superpowers held hostage to each other by their nuclear arsenals.
- One that is manipulated by the demands of another: “National policies cannot be made hostage to another country” (Alan D. Romberg).
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