conscription
noun
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With its scrip- root, conscription means basically writing someone's name on a list—a list that, unfortunately, a lot of people usually don't want to be on. Conscription has existed at least since ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom (27th century B.C.), though universal conscription has been rare throughout history. Forms of conscription were used by Prussia, Switzerland, Russia, and other European powers in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the U.S., conscription was first applied during the Civil War, by both the North and the South. In the North there were pockets of resistance, and the draft led to riots in several cities. The U.S. abandoned conscription at the end of the war and didn't revive it until World War I.
Examples of conscription in a Sentence
Asaf Elia-Shalev, Sun Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2025
Responding to internal and external pressure, Taiwan lengthened its conscription term in 2024 from four months to one year for all Taiwanese men born after 2005 and updated the curriculum for conscripts and reservists to include some live-fire drills.
—Jennifer Kavanagh, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Improving Ukraine’s position will require Ukraine to reduce its conscription age to 18.
—Stephen Hadley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2025
These men, who had fled Syria to escape conscription into Assad's army, were heartbroken as their families in Syria fled to mountains, fearing for their lives.
—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Newsweek, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conscription
Cite this Entry
“Conscription.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscription. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.
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