Synonyms

imprisonment

American

[im-priz-uhn-muhnt] / ɪmˈprɪz ən mənt /

noun

the act of confining in or as if in a prison; the state of being so confined.

Identity theft and computer fraud are criminal offenses punishable by imprisonment.
Winter up there means cumbersome living and imprisonment in an icy hell.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

imprisonments

plural

Etymology

Origin of imprisonment

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Old French emprisonnement, equivalent to imprison ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

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 has created a series of four pieces he calls The Story of My Imprisonment.

From BBC • Aug. 28, 2022

“Black Imprisonment Rate in the US Has Fallen by a Third since 2006.”

From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022

“He did nothing wrong,” Mr. Signorelli said, noting that a claim against the state that Mr. Williams filed under the Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment Act was dismissed this year.

From New York Times • May 5, 2022

Roberts is separately weighing whether the D.C. government is liable for damages to be awarded to Gates under the city’s Unjust Imprisonment Act.

From Washington Post • Nov. 18, 2015

Imprisonment, they say, now creates far more crime than it prevents, by ripping apart fragile social networks, destroying families, and creating a permanent class of unemployables.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023