confined
Americanadjective
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limited or restricted.
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unable to leave a place because of illness, imprisonment, etc.
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being in childbirth; being in parturition.
adjective
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enclosed or restricted; limited
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in childbed; undergoing childbirth
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confined
Explanation
The adjective confined describes a space that is cramped or small and constricted. You probably don't see any claustrophobic vampires because if they were claustrophobic, they'd have a fear of confined spaces — like their coffins. The adjective confined describes being in captivity or not free to move about. If you do charity work, you could read books to older people confined to their homes. You could move your confined arms better if you just took off a few layers of clothes; you really don't need three sweaters, a vest, and a coat in 40 degree weather — even if you are from Arizona.
Vocabulary lists containing confined
Our Town
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"Efrén Divided" by Ernesto Cisneros, Chapters 1–5
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CTE Construction ("Core Curriculum: Introductory Craft Skills,") Vocabulary from Module One
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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.
Earlier this month, Barclays analysts were warning that elevated diesel prices “are unlikely to remain confined to the energy line-items of U.S. inflation.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Which means these attitudes are not just confined to dedicated craft-snarking spaces.
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2026
This provided evidence that fluid from the back of the eye could enter an active drainage pathway rather than remaining confined within the eye.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Fifty years ago, he says, bullying would have been relatively "private", and confined to "the classroom, in the halls, in the school".
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
His colleagues, confined to their lab benches, thought that he had gone fully mad.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.