internment

noun

in·​tern·​ment in-ˈtərn-mənt How to pronounce internment (audio)
ˈin-ˌtərn-
plural internments
: the act of interning someone or the state of being interned
His parents had never told him about the exclusion laws, or the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the subject had not come up in his textbooks.Timothy Egan
Even in the midst of betrayal and the resulting alienation experienced in the internment, there exists the unnegotiable state of human bonds and possibility for reconciliation.Fumitaka Matsuoka
… an American who spent World War II with his parents in an internment camp.Philip Siekman

Examples of internment in a Sentence

the internment of Americans of Japanese descent during World War II is one of the more shameful chapters in United States history
Recent Examples on the Web
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Among those, Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed Southern slaves, Franklin Roosevelt placed Japanese Americans in internment camps, Harry S. Truman integrated the military, and Joe Biden forgave student loans. Claire B. Wofford, The Conversation, 25 Feb. 2025 It was built in 1990 to honor those whose lives were uprooted during the era of Japanese American internment camps. Alina Polishuk, AFAR Media, 25 Feb. 2025 Their grandmother, Linda Horikawa, was only 4 years old when her family was forced into the internment camps. Lauren Migaki, NPR, 24 Feb. 2025 In the finale, Daniel’s mother pulls out a necklace Mr. Miyagi gave her that belonged to his mother and, later, his wife, who died in a Japanese internment camp. Skyler Trepel, People.com, 15 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for internment

Word History

First Known Use

1850, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of internment was in 1850

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Cite this Entry

“Internment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/internment. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

internment

noun
in·​tern·​ment
in-ˈtərn-mənt,
ˈin-ˌtərn-
: the act of interning : the state of being interned

More from Merriam-Webster on internment

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