conscription

noun

con·​scrip·​tion kən-ˈskrip-shən 

: compulsory enrollment of persons especially for military service : draft

During the war the armed forces were heavily dependent on conscription.

Did you know?

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

young people who face conscription into the army

Recent Examples on the Web

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

But legislators tend to dismiss the possibility of reinstating conscription. —Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025

President Biden’s administration is urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops and revamping its mobilization laws to allow for the conscription of troops as young as 18. —Aamer Madhani, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see conscript entry 1

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for conscription

• ascription
• decryption
• description
• egyptian
• encryption
• inscription
• prescription
• proscription
• subscription
• transcription
• circumscription
• misdescription