This is the 12074th most frequent Portuguese word.
refém
Hostage.
Here, 'refém' is used in the literal sense to mean a person held captive as a way to force compliance in negotiations.
O grupo de criminosos manteve um refém durante a negociação.
The group of criminals held a hostage during the negotiation.
In this sentence, 'refém' is used metaphorically to express feeling trapped or constrained by circumstances.
Ele se sentia um refém da rotina diária.
He felt like a hostage to the daily routine.
Here, 'refém' is figuratively employed to denote being controlled or inhibited by one's actions or situations.