imprisonment

noun

Definition of imprisonmentnext
1
as in captivity
the act of confining or the state of being confined the offense is punishable by a fine or imprisonment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in incarceration
the state of being held in lawful custody the long years of imprisonment had taken their toll on his mind and spirit as well as his body

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for imprisonment
  1. captivity
  2. incarceration
  3. internment
  4. detention
  5. prison
  6. confinement
Noun
  • Winning the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, the second of Chan-wook’s vengeance trilogy finds Choi Min-sik as a drunkard who’s mysteriously imprisoned for 15 years, only to be unceremoniously released from captivity to discover what his past sins resulted in.
    Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 28 Oct. 2024
  • The animal was weak and dehydrated when another bystander took it to the wildlife hospital operated by the Bird Alliance of Oregon, leading experts to suppose the fox had accidentally escaped from captivity or been dumped by people who kept her illegally.
    Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2024
Definition of captivity
Noun
  • Price’s speech drew the curtains on a historic bid to reimagine the East Bay’s criminal justice system, one that sought to correct for the nation’s legacy of mass incarceration that disproportionately affected Black residents and communities of color.
    Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 18 Nov. 2024
  • And in 2022, Chesa Boudin, who advocated for restorative justice and ending mass incarceration, was ousted as San Francisco’s district attorney in a recall.
    Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Definition of incarceration
Noun
  • The last time the act was invoked was during World War II, and it was used to place noncitizens from Japan, Germany and Italy in internment camps.
    Matthew Crowley, Louis Jacobson, Austin American-Statesman, 21 Nov. 2024
  • This bill granted $20,000 in reparations to every surviving Japanese-American incarcerated in internment camps during World War II.
    Chloe Iris Kennedy, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Definition of internment
Noun
  • The opposition attributed the release to the pressure placed on the regime when the cases were elevated to international courts because almost all the detentions had been arbitrary. 2.
    Russell Contreras, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024
  • That agency's closure left the Wauwatosa Municipal Court without alternatives to detention to recommend for juveniles.
    Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 14 Nov. 2024
Definition of detention
Noun
  • Another suspect, Gary Howard Oliva, who spent eight years in prison on child pornography charges, was first named as a person of interest in a 2002 episode of the CBS show 48 Hours Investigates.
    Emily Blackwood, People.com, 23 Nov. 2024
  • The judge in the case reduced that sentence to eight years in prison and a $15,100 fine — with three of those eight years to be served in home detention — with Kennedy also ordered to serve five years of probation and undergo random drug testing and mental health counseling.
    Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 22 Nov. 2024
Definition of prison
Noun
  • The dean, Marilyn Flynn, was sentenced to 18 months of home confinement after pleading guilty to one count of bribery.
    Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
  • Navalny details the final years of his life spent in confinement, and implores the Russian people to resist Putin’s regime.
    Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
Definition of confinement
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near imprisonment

imprisoning

imprisonment

imprisonments

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Imprisonment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imprisonment. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on imprisonment

Nglish: Translation of imprisonment for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of imprisonment for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
sweet smart pug puppy dog sitting in front of blackboard with chalk question marks
Commonly Confused Words Quiz Vol. 3 Do you have a (flare/flair) for choosing the righ...