con tin
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: A person who is seized or held by a party in a conflict, used as a bargaining tool to compel certain actions, such as compliance with demands, payment of ransom, or political concessions. The term implies captivity under threat.
Usage Examples
- (The terrorists took five people hostage.)
- (The negotiation to free the hostages lasted for many days.)
- (He became a hostage during the bank robbery.)
Advanced Usage
"Làm con tin" / "Bị bắt làm con tin": To be taken hostage.
- Các phi hành gia có nguy cơ bị bắt làm con tin. (The astronauts were at risk of being taken hostage.)
Used metaphorically to describe a person or entity trapped in a situation and used as leverage.
- Cô ấy cảm thấy mình như một con tin trong cuộc hôn nhân tồi tệ đó. (She felt like a hostage in that bad marriage.)
Variants and Related Words
- Con tin chính trị (n): Political hostage.
- Con tin sống (n): Living hostage (emphasizing a person, as opposed to an object held as collateral).
Synonyms
- Hostage: The direct and most common equivalent.
- Captive: A person who has been taken prisoner, especially in a war or conflict, though not always with the specific bargaining connotation.
- Pawn: Emphasizes being used as a tool in a larger scheme, similar to the metaphorical use.
Related Idioms and Phrases
Trao trả con tin: To hand over or release hostages.
- Điều kiện đầu tiên là trao trả tất cả con tin. (The first condition is the release of all hostages.)
Lấy ai/cái gì làm con tin: To use someone/something as a hostage or bargaining chip.
- Họ lấy dân thường làm con tin. (They used civilians as hostages.)
noun
- Hostage
- bị giữ làm con tinto be detained as a hostage