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
  • Pete Travis Timmerman, 29, from Urbana, Mo., emerged after months of captivity in an online video, which some mistakenly believed showed Austin Tice, a journalist who went missing in the country over a decade ago.
    Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2024
  • The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday issued a sweeping demand that Israel and Hamas reach a cease-fire agreement and that all hostages be freed from captivity.
    Caitlin McFall, Fox News, 12 Dec. 2024
Definition of captivity
Noun
  • They were released this month after 17 years of incarceration.
    Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
  • Under his bill, those convicted of possessing a small amount of cannabis would be guilty of a summary offense and face a fine not exceeding $100, with no possibility of incarceration.
    A.J. Herrington, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Definition of incarceration
Noun
  • At the same time, the United States and Western allies have accused Xi of overseeing widespread human rights abuses, even claims of genocide, against the nation's Uyghurs through the use of mass internment camps, a charge the Chinese leader and his government have vehemently denied.
    Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024
  • Their strategy resulted in Trump downplaying China’s crackdown against protesters in Hong Kong, expressing support for its internment camps in Xinjiang, offering to lift export controls on Huawei and ZTE, and even accepting a trade deal that did not address China’s industrial policy practices.
    Rush Doshi, Foreign Affairs, 29 Nov. 2024
Definition of internment
Noun
  • The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, said French officials routinely placed children on Mayotte in immigration detention with their families, despite condemnation of the practice by the European Court of Human Rights.
    Julie Bourdin, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2024
  • Youth detention facilities across the U.S. under scrutiny The charges in Alabama are the latest in a wave of cases and lawsuits involving youth detention facilities across the country.
    Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of detention
Noun
  • She was sentenced in June of this year to one year in prison for underreporting and failing to file federal income taxes.
    Jim Talamonti | The Center Square contributor, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 20 Dec. 2024
  • Joel Cordero, 45, of Meriden, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to a total of 155 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for trafficking heroin and fentanyl, according to federal authorities.
    Staff report, Hartford Courant, 20 Dec. 2024
Definition of prison
Noun
  • This means Jaynes is either in a residential reentry center or in home confinement.
    Tim Evans, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Dec. 2024
  • According to the Miami Herald, Shapiro had been released from prison in 2020 as part of a COVID-era program to move inmates to home confinement.
    Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 14 Dec. 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 31 Dec. 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

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

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

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

8 Words with Fascinating Histories

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

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

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
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
naughty or nice
Are you naughty or nice? Quiz He's making a quiz, and checking it twice...