confine

[kuhn-fahyn, kon-fahyn]

verb (used with object)

confined, confining 

1. 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

2. 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

1. Usually confines. a boundary or bound; limit; border; frontier.

2. Often confines. region; territory.

3. Archaic.,  confinement.

4. Obsolete.,  a place of confinement; prison.

confine

verb

1. to keep or close within bounds; limit; restrict

2. to keep shut in; restrict the free movement of

   arthritis confined him to bed

noun

1. (often plural) a limit; boundary

Other Word Forms

• confineless adjective
• confinable adjective
• confiner noun
• confineable adjective
• nonconfining adjective
• preconfine verb (used with object)
• quasi-confining adjective
• reconfine verb (used with object)
• self-confining adjective
• unconfinable adjective
• unconfining adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of confine¹

1350–1400 for noun; 1515–25 for v.; (noun) Middle English < Middle French confins, confines < Medieval Latin confinia, plural of Latin confinis boundary, border ( con-, fine ² ); (v.) < Middle French confiner, verbal derivative of confins < Latin, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of confine¹

C16: from Medieval Latin confīnāre from Latin confīnis adjacent, from fīnis end, boundary

Example Sentences

Here, Byrne races past the confines of streaming television, able to operate at a 10 from the film’s very first frame and hold that potency until its striking final shot.

Read more on Salon

In a remarkable film of a recently married couple, we briefly glimpse a vivacious Anne, not yet confined to the annex, regarding the pair from a balcony.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

He is confined to a small, airless room with six other Israelis, all men considerably younger than Mr. Sharabi, who was 51 at the time of his kidnapping.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Once Chinese assets are within the confines of U.S. or European-domiciled companies, the conversation gets a little easier.

Read more on Barron's

No one died in the incident, and damage was confined to the refinery’s footprint.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• constrain 
• detain 
• hinder 
• imprison 
• incarcerate 
• jail 
• restrain 
• restrict