the state of being imprisoned; "he was held in captivity until he died"; "the imprisonment of captured soldiers"; "his ignominious incarceration in the local jail"; "he practiced the immurement of his enemies in the castle dungeon"
payment extorted by gangsters on threat of violence; "every store in the neighborhood had to pay him protection"
the activity of protecting someone or something; "the witnesses demanded police protection"
the imposition of duties or quotas on imports in order to protect domestic industry against foreign competition; "he made trade protection a plank in the party platform"
the condition of being protected; "they were huddled together for protection"; "he enjoyed a sense of peace and protection in his new home"
acting in a manner that is gentle and mild and even-tempered; "his fingers have learned gentleness"; "suddenly her gigantic power melted into softness for the baby"; "even in the pulpit there are moments when mildness of manner is not enough"
prevent from doing something or being in a certain state; "We must prevent the cancer from spreading"; "His snoring kept me from falling asleep"; "Keep the child from eating the marbles"
keep from happening or arising; make impossible; "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"
put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"
(biology) the field of science concerned with processes of communication and control (especially the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems)