imprison

verb

im·​pris·​on im-ˈpri-zᵊn 

imprisoned; imprisoning; imprisons

transitive verb

: to put in or as if in prison : confine

imprisonment

im-ˈpri-zᵊn-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

• commit
• confine
• immure
• incarcerate
• intern
• jail
• jug
• lock (up)

Examples of imprison in a Sentence

He was imprisoned for murder.

He has threatened to imprison his political opponents.

Recent Examples on the Web

He was imprisoned in Afghanistan from 2019 until just two weeks before the bombing, at which point he was recruited by an ISIS-K member to assist in the attack. —Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025

Dahmer was imprisoned at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin after being arrested in 1991. —Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025

Ocalan, 75, has been imprisoned on the island of Imrali, off Istanbul, since 1999, after being convicted of treason. —Robert Badendieck and Suzan Fraser The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2025

Jane Doe’s countersuit came after the Tate brothers sued her for defamation in 2023, accusing her and another woman of giving Romanian authorities fabricated evidence and conspiring to defraud and falsely imprison them. —Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 27 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French emprisoner, from en- + prison prison

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for imprison

• arisen
• kisan
• mizzen
• nisan
• prison
• risen

Kids Definition

imprison

verb

im·​pris·​on im-ˈpriz-ᵊn 

imprisoned; imprisoning

-ˈpriz-(ə-)niŋ

: to put in or as if in prison

imprisonment

-ˈpriz-ən-mənt 

noun

Legal Definition

imprison

transitive verb

im·​pris·​on

: to confine in prison especially as punishment for a crime compare false imprisonment

imprisonment noun