conscription
/kənˈskrɪpʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /kənˈskrɪpʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /kən-ˈskrip-shən/ (ame, mw)
conscription — noun
1. a government rule that requires citizens, usually young men, to serve in the arm
a government rule that requires citizens, usually young men, to serve in the army, navy, or air force for a fixed period, whether or not they want to.
South Korea still uses conscription, so most young men serve eighteen months in the army.
country + uses + conscription (typical subject-verb collocation)
Aarav's grandfather was sent to fight in Burma under wartime conscription.
under (wartime) conscription — common prepositional pattern
The government introduced conscription after losing thousands of soldiers in the first year of war.
Eve refused to register for conscription and was sent to prison for two years.
Many European countries ended conscription in the 1990s and now rely on volunteer soldiers.
- draft
American English everyday term for the same system; less formal than 'conscription'.
- compulsory military service
a descriptive phrase often used when 'conscription' would sound too technical.
- call-up
informal British term; usually refers to the moment of being summoned rather than the policy as a whole.
- volunteer service
joining the armed forces by personal choice rather than by law.
- all-volunteer force
a military made up entirely of people who chose to join, opposite of conscription-based armies.
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable and used with no article when speaking of the system in general (`introduce conscription`, not `a conscription`). Subject is normally a government or country; object roles are rare because conscription is the action itself.