confine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to enclose within bounds; limit or restrict.
She confined her remarks to errors in the report. Confine your efforts to finishing the book.
- Synonyms:
- circumscribe
- Antonyms:
- free
-
to shut or keep in; prevent from leaving a place because of imprisonment, illness, discipline, etc..
For that offense he was confined to quarters for 30 days.
- Antonyms:
- free
noun
-
Usually confines. a boundary or bound; limit; border; frontier.
-
Often confines. region; territory.
-
Archaic. confinement.
-
Obsolete. a place of confinement; prison.
verb
-
to keep or close within bounds; limit; restrict
-
to keep shut in; restrict the free movement of
arthritis confined him to bed
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confine
1350–1400 for noun; 1515–25 for v.; (noun) Middle English < Middle French confins, confines < Medieval Latin confinia, plural of Latin confinis boundary, border ( see con-, fine 2); (v.) < Middle French confiner, verbal derivative of confins < Latin, as above
Explanation
Confine is all about setting limits. If you are confined to the house, it means you can't leave it. If you're really sick, you might be confined to your bed. Confine can be used abstractly as well. In writing a term paper, your teacher might tell you to confine your examples to ones that you can support with direct evidence. In the 19th century, pregnancy and childbirth were often referred to as a woman's confinement—a time when she couldn't get up or out.
Vocabulary lists containing confine
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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Bridge to Terabithia
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Marbury v. Madison (1803)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He suggested a structural change: Confine criticism of past cases to the end of the opinion, so he and Blackmun could join the first part.
From Washington Post • May 29, 2019
Confine your remarks to what you’ve observed without speculating extensively about her motives.
From Slate • Sep. 13, 2017
Confine yourself to time periods in which the door is closed.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
Don’t Confine Them to Their Box on the Organizational Chart – These kids are smart, talented, experienced and eager.
From Forbes • Sep. 11, 2014
There, between the Valle del Confine and the Val Malghera, the forest had been recently cut down, and the rocky slope was bare.
From The Patriot Piccolo Mondo Antico by Fogazzaro, Antonio
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
