carceral

[kahr-suh-ruhl]

adjective

1. of or relating to prison or imprisonment, or to other formal methods of social control.

   This book is a blueprint for policymakers to reform practices and for concerned citizens to understand our changing carceral landscape.

   Critics claim that these policies could result in an expanding carceral state.

Word History and Origins

Origin of carceral¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin carcerālis, equivalent to carcer “prison” + -ālis -al ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

This takes on a dangerous context inside a carceral setting.

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Not that these co-directors could take their cameras inside the country’s most notorious state carceral system to film wretched conditions: overcrowding, understaffing, abuse, death and untreated addiction.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Security theater, in this case, that prioritizes a retributive desire to see people jailed rather than a smart, data-oriented understanding that the justice system of Norman England left a lot to be desired, and that, these days, we can get better results with less carceral horror.

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America is rapidly transforming from a service state that provides education, health care, infrastructure and parks to its citizens into a carceral state that punishes and imprisons them.

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That is the result of the carceral state, whereby ICE and the National Guard prowl the streets, creeping out normal people going about their business.

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